Too cute not to share

Carmen was all decked out in hot pink for Rebecca's wedding. The wedding colors were Hot Pink, Platinum, Black and Sparkle so she had to match as an honorary flower girl. She was too cute!

Thoughts for the Moment

My reality with a new baby is a lot different than I thought it would be. I thought things would be so drastically abnormal but they're not. And at the same time they are.

I am still me and Michael is still Michael. Our family and friends are the same. Our home is the same. My sense of humor, preferences, talents, likes and dislikes are the same. Just now there's a baby! I had this weird, un-thought out idea that somehow life as I knew it would be no more- in a twilight zone sort of way. But it's not!

What IS entirely different is what my individual hours in the day look like. Things that happen: I feed the baby, change and dress the baby, bathe the baby, hold the baby, play with the baby, put the baby to sleep, watch the baby sleep, and do it all over again. Things that rarely ever happen: shower, getting dressed, laundry, deep cleaning, washing dishes, completing an email or two, blogging (today is a lucky day), remembering what it was I walked up or downstairs to do, folding laundry, tidying up the house, getting the mail, going to the grocery store, getting wedding work done (scary one!), buying gifts for weddings, showers and birthdays, going to the bathroom (TOTAL change from 6 weeks ago when I lived on the toilet), writing thank you notes, cooking, uploading pictures on the computer. It just doesn't happen. And I think this is all part of Carmen still being so little and new. It's got to become possible to do simple tasks again right??

Though I'd like to shower and clean up the house, those things just aren't as necessary as feeding a new baby. And paying so much attention to my little darling is absolutely worth it!

This morning at 7:30am:

No title

What's wrong with me??? I can't get a blog post done to save my life. Oh wait, I have a new baby and a busy October full of weddings. I cannot wait to be done with them! This weekend marks the end of my 2011 clients. It could not come fast enough. We also traveled to Rhode Island this past weekend for one of my best friend's weddings. It was gorgeous and so so fun. Road tripping took a little toll on us though. (Speaking of tolls, it cost about $75 in tolls to get there and back...says my dad. Ridiculous!) I had one bag packed for myself and 5 bags for the baby. How is that possible?! I'll post more pics of that later on. Maybe in November.

Funny pic: Carmen and Walker Campbell. Look at Walker's eyes! He looks terrified that I was taking a picture of the two of them together.

Hats and Headbands

She's all girl!

We love her owl hat. Irresistible.

All dressed up for her first wedding:

It's Not September Anymore

That was the fastest September I can ever remember. I miss it already. But life has been good.

As each week passes, I can sense life getting easier and more predictable again. Carmen is SUCH a good baby but she's a new baby - and that takes some time getting used to no matter how prepared you are ahead of time. We have started to venture out more. Well, more like we were forced to venture out with my client's wedding this past weekend. We packed up our bags and headed to Charlottesville for a long weekend. I found it pretty stressful to travel and move into suitcases with a 4 week old, but special things like a cozy home at the Uhls' and friends like Amanda and Brett to love on Carmen when I couldn't, made the trip easier. I would love a nap just thinking about it all.

Baby girl has a wonderful nighttime schedule for her age and our days are making a little more sense now. She still loves to be held and talked to and really doesn't like to be without her pacifier after her play time is over. She was like that from day 4, apparently I was the same way as a baby. Carmen's facial expressions and smiles are coming to life. Michael and I love it and laugh at her cute faces all the time.

I need to take bath time photos because she loves it and so incredibly cute in her little tub. If you're ever having a bad day just come over and we can give Carmen a bath together, you won't feel anything but happiness.