Lilac Festival

Festival season is here and we have been trying to get out to as many events as possible. My dad used to go to the Rochester Lilac Festival when he was a kid. It was fun even though we got rained out only a couple hours after getting there. We still managed to get in some dancing!

Niagara Falls

Nothing reminds me more of a "family road trip" than Niagara Falls. Maybe Mount Rushmore and the Hoover Dam too. Those boring things you go see because it's family friendly and very Americana. Niagara Falls we went to see because it was part of my assignment for a class. I went there as a kid and remember waiting in line forever on the Canadian side in those dumb ponchos to go to the cave behind the falls or whatever. It was okay. 

Before we left we had to make funny faces of course...

Ellie's first state park!

Joe had never been to Niagara Falls before. I thought that was weird because he grew up in New York all his life until he moved with me to Alaska. I thought everyone had gone there as a kid at some point!

We both had this irrational fear of somehow dropping Ellie down the waterfall. 

Those big piles of snow are actually mountains of ice from the waterfall.

Anniversary Snapshots

Joe and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary on the 21st! We wanted to mark the occasion so naturally we went out to... wait for it... the MALL. Sounds awesome, right? I can explain. We drove downtown to the water that morning because I had to take some photos of the waterfront for a class. I was hoping there would be something cool we could do down there but unfortunately there was nothing but bars and it was snowing horribly. It's been so SO cold. Like Alaska cold. So like everyone else in Buffalo who wanted to get out of the house but still stay out of the snow, we went to the mall. 

I had gone there earlier that week to buy some makeup and it was a really nice mall, the first nice one I've been in since I lived in Anchorage. Don't judge me! You'll love a good consumerist-cookie-cutter mall when you've had to live in western Louisiana where Walmart is considered the hot spot on a Saturday. 

Anyway.

Joe needed a coat so we went looking for one at Dicks, which somehow led us to seriously consider the purchase of a treadmill. We didn't get one but I feel like we will be saving for one in the future.

We ended up getting dinner at P.F. Changs (making up for some terrible Chinese takeout we ordered on Chinese New Year) We had a really fun time! 

Ellie and I in the morning.

A cool building by the water.

The bridge to where all the old grain silos are.

Pottery Barn Baby had this adorable tool bench! If I ever acquire any woodworking skills I will have to make one for her along with a kitchen.

Imitating mommy on the computer.

My new favorite makeup pallet of all time, Ombre Nudes by Becca.

I used my vanilla bath bomb yesterday and it was AMAZING. I've never been that big into bath products but this is going to turn into a weekly thing for sure. The shampoo for colored hair was amazing too.  

Swings

It is cooling down here, making it finally good enough to go out for a walk in the park! It's much easier putting Ellie in a wrap or sling in cooler weather. We had a great time on the swings and playing in the grass!

What We Wore, Poolside

Does it count as a What We Wore post if it's bathing suits? 

I needed a new bathing suit since the ones I had were from about 7 years ago and getting a little snug (they were snug when I bought them!) Right after having a baby there was just no way they would fit! I really hate most of the styles that have been popular lately since they're all made for a long waisted body shape - really really low rise and super tiny tops. I also didn't want to blind people with my Alaskan-winter pale skin, so I searched for a cute one piece. My first stop was Pinup Girl Clothing. I love the Rockabilly style even though I don't get to dress in it, so I took the opportunity to get the Betty Swimsuit in Black Cherry. Does anyone else love Rockabilly style, but can't get it together enough to wear it more often? I think it's the hair that gets me. It just takes way too long to do those victory rolls and pin curls do NOT work out for me. I still faithfully watch Cherry Dollface and Lisa Freemont Street hoping one day I can get it right! 

What kind of new mama wouldn't want to have her baby girl wear a matching cherry suit too?? I searched everywhere in vain for a bathing suit to match and the closest I came was a Carters onesie that was navy blue. I still love it and especially love the floppy sun hat from iPlay (they have a matching tankini and swim diaper set that is too big for her just yet!) We dipped her little toesies in the toddler pool but she didn't really seem to care and continued sleeping.

Mother-Daughter-Granddaughter selfie! My mom liked my suit so much she got one too!

Afternoons

We have been hanging out on the patio a lot since my mom has been here. We don't have a grill so I suppose wine and cheese will have to make our memorial day "cookout." Miss Kitty likes to join us and watch the birds and Murray likes to watch Kitty watch the birds. 

Today is officially my last on maternity leave and I'm pretty anxious about it. I know Joe is going to do great at home with Ellie, so that's not what is worrying me. I get to come home for lunch usually so I shouldn't be too anxious about missing her during the daytime either. My mom will be here for another week, helping us to get adjusted to my work schedule. After that it's all up to us! 

I think what worries me is that I am basically returning to a "new" job. We've been in Louisiana for five months but I only worked until 3:30 pm (still an eight hour day) and I never did things like work in the motorpool on the vehicles because of the chemicals. I guess I just have this feeling of impending doom, like all the sudden I will have a really rough time at work. Not to mention I still have those lingering "pregnancy brain" hormones floating around that make me forget things. For the life of me I can NEVER locate my phone OR the keys. They end up in any number of purses or diaper bags. I go into the kitchen to get my pumping supplies cleaned and I end up making coffee or freezing milk instead.

I'm hoping time at work flies by as quickly as my maternity leave did! I'm excited to get my last year in the military done so we can move back to New York and start a new chapter. It's going to be rough but it's going to be an adventure. I love an adventure!

Day at the Bark Park

Murray was pretty anxious to go do something fun today so we went to the Bark Park down our street. It was a perfect 70 degrees with lots of sunshine and just enough of a breeze to cool off. The last time we went to the park a giant chow chow kept trying to hump Murray and a little brown dog peed on my skirt! There were tons of dogs there last time too, so I was happy today when we had the park all to ourselves. Joe finally got to run around with him and try out playing fetch. He didn't quite get it at the beginning and kept running past the ball and the frisbee, but eventually he got the concept. 

Shameless selfie! What can I say, I put makeup on today and didn't want to waste it without a photo. 

Baby Bump: 38 Weeks!

Weight Gain: 22 lbs

Belly Button? Innie and no stretch marks! Sweet! 

Feeling: Very happy! I'm on leave now, at least until the 15th. Hopefully she arrives on time! My brother and I both decided to arrive on our due dates so maybe she will be the same. 

Food I'm Missing: Wine. We just got some really nice handpainted wine glasses as a gift and I can't wait to use them.

Listening to: Songza Playlists, mostly mellow and indie stuff. I'm in love with that app and I think I will be using it in the hospital instead of making a playlist from my iTunes. I'm too lazy to find new music these days. 

Movement: She stuck her little foot out last night and it was pretty weird feeling!

Looking Forward to: My mom getting here! She is driving down next week and staying for a while to help out. I haven't seen her in over a year and a half.

We stopped at the War Memorial Park today because Joe wanted to check out the tanks. It's been nice and warm lately, almost hot, and I'm loving it. It's been so long since I lived in a warm place!

A Walk by the Swamp and Life in Louisiana (so far)

Does this count as a swamp? I haven't lived in Louisiana long enough to know the difference between a swamp, a bayou or just a pond. I'm going to call this one a swamp since there was a sign that said "Beware of Snakes" and snakes seem like a thing that would live near a swamp. 

It gets pretty chilly and foggy in the morning but by the afternoon it's nice and warm, that is, if it's not raining. I realized that in the three years I lived in Alaska, there never once was a thunderstorm! Louisiana has it's fair share of thunder and lightning.

It's been nice to live in a place where we can go for walks. I love that I can go outside with a light sweatshirt and walk Murray around the neighborhood with Joe. In Alaska we didn't live in the prettiest neighborhood and most of the year it was too snowy, cold or rainy and we just wanted to stay indoors. While nothing can really compare to the beautiful mountain views in Alaska, I'm happy to live in a place with pretty blooming dogwood trees and rolling hills. I'm looking forward to taking Ellie out in her wrap carrier and walking the dog with Joe. 

Other than not having anywhere to buy quality produce I really like Louisiana so far. People were telling me such awful things about this place, but I have come to the conclusion that none of these people have ever lived in a place called Fort Leonardwood, Missouri. Let me tell you... This place is so much better! 

A Day of Selfies in L.A.

We did a super touristy day in Los Angeles. Joe had never been to Hollywood before so we took the day to go to Hollywood Boulevard and see the Walk of Fame and the Chinese Theatre. He wouldn't put his hands on any of the handprints but I got him to agree put his feet on Donald Ducks prints. We had breakfast at Mel's Diner and then took a super cheesy tour bus around Beverly Hills, Mulholland Drive, Farmers Market and Rodeo Drive. It was pretty silly but also pretty fun. We could have driven up Mulholland Drive ourselves but we wouldn't have known which houses belonged to which people. I also think it's pretty strange that these people live in places where tour buses drive around regularly so that tourists can take pictures!

Later in the day we went to Hermosa Beach to hang out and wait for my friend to get home from work. I love that whole area of Los Angeles!  Redondo beach, Manhattan beach and Hermosa are so beautiful. It's the only place in L.A. I would ever want to live.