the columbus zoo.

travis, sylvie and i are in ohio to celebrate the upcoming holiday with my in-laws. today was an unseasonably warm 65 degrees, so we spent the afternoon and evening at the zoo. (you may recall that the last time we tried to go to the zoo, my gallbladder intervened.) every year, around the holidays, the columbus zoo extends their hours until 9 at night and covers everything with christmas lights. sylvie slept for most of our visit, but woke just in time to see the trees light up. so pretty. i took over 60 pictures during the 3 hours we spent there. these are my (20+) favorites.

iphone.

can’t stop, won’t stop.

taking pictures of my precious girl, that is.

today we went to sylvie’s 2 week pediatrician appointment. her weight gain was a little touch and go at the beginning, but i’m happy to report that she is back up to her birth weight. that’s 9 ounces gained in one week! she’s eating like a champ around the clock, which means almost no sleep on our end. it’s all so worth it.

so much love.

i apologize for my lack of posting over the past week. however, in my defense i have the cutest reason ever to be preoccupied.

we finally got some clothes that fit her today. she’s so tiny that my mom had to venture into the preemie section. the newborn items we have are HUGE on her. can someone please explain to me where the clothing items for 5-7 pound babies are hiding? the preemie items are just slightly short on her, but they fit her better than anything else. oh well. i’m sure she’ll fit into her newborn stuff by her actual due date on the 31st.

there are many unexpected side effects of having a baby that no one ever tells you about. the one that has hit me is the overwhelming love i have for my husband. it’s an entirely new kind of affection now that we’re nurturing this life together. i’m more in love with him now than i ever thought possible. he just blows me away. he went from changing his first ever diaper to being super dad over the course of a day. you always hear about the mother’s instincts and intuition. i think it’s about time we give it up for the dads. his instincts are spot on. i’m continually impressed with how well he has adjusted. there is so much love in our little family.

your first few days

(in pictures)

i could sit and stare at you all day long, sylvie. we love you so much.

the past.

2002:

2003:

2004:

2005:

(yep, that’s travis. this was taken a few months before we began dating.)

2006:

2007:

2008:

2009:

(the day we found out about sylvie. december 22, 2009.)

2010:

it’s been a long road to get where i am today. i regret nothing. every misstep, mistake, and bad hair cut has lead me to today. i have never been happier.

another saturday night.

travis, auggie and i are having a movie date tonight.

we’re going to watch 500 days of summer, which i haven’t seen yet.  i ❤ netflix.

travis and i just finished a delicious home-cooked dinner of balsamic-brushed roasted brussels sprouts, crispy prosciutto, shallots, and balsamic reduction over pasta.  it was so tasty!  i’ve been brussels sprout CRAZY lately.  they always sound so yummy to me.  i am also obsessed with edy’s strawberry popsicles.

ALSO, i am taking a short trip to pennsylvania a week from monday to visit my family and friends!!!  i miss them so much.  the hardest part of being pregnant has been having to go through it so far away from my support system.  don’t get me wrong, travis has been amazing through everything, but nothing can replace good girlfriends and parental support.  i haven’t been back east in months, and i am so excited i got to plan this little last-minute getaway.  travis, who is less than a month away from his final painting critique, will stay here with auggie and get some much needed uninterrupted studio time.  we’ll miss each other, but he’s happy to spend the time painting.

well, travis is almost done with the dishes (i love that man), so it’s almost movie time!  have a lovely saturday night.

wedding.

i’ve had a few questions on my formspring regarding our wedding.  it is still hard to for me to put what our wedding was like into words.  it was the most beautiful day of my life.  once again, i’ll let pictures do the talking.  the following photographs are courtesy of our incredible photographer, geoffrey horowitz of leapfrog photography in media, pennsylvania.

the ceremony site:

a close up of our flowers:

my dress (i would wear it again in a heartbeat):

my parents:

my handsome groom:

walking down the aisle:

stomping the glass at the end of the ceremony:

reception:

our first dance to the song, “better”, written and performed live by our friend, brian salcido:

the mother/son dance to “beautiful boy” by john lennon:

my nieces, sophie and tessa, who were my flower girl and junior bridesmaid, respectively:

the hora!:

travis’ cousins gettin’ down:

our cake topper:

our getaway car:

a beautiful day:

there are so many more pictures i could share with you, but that would be a MONSTROUS post (our photographer gave us a cd with over 900 pictures).  it was the most amazing day of my life, and being surrounded by the people who love us most was incredible.  the decorations, food, music, etc. made the day awesome, but our family and friends made it unforgettable.

jam pants.

travis and i enjoyed a lazy morning today before we both had to brave the cold and go to work.  i thought i would share some pictures he snapped of me and auggie right before i left our warm, cozy apartment for the evening.  i would have given anything to stay home and snuggle my puppy tonight.

i know this one is blurry, but i really like it:

i love auggie’s goofy face in this one:

you know it is truly cold outside when you catch me wearing this sweater.  it is quite possibly the warmest thing ever created.  that combined with being oversized, comfortable, and that it originally belonged to my nana, makes it the most comforting item in my closet.  i love to dress up when i go out, but when i’m at home you will always find me in something warm and shapeless.

i LOVE pajama pants (or “jam pants”, as i call them), but before you get all what not to wear on me, know that i never don them outside of the house.  i was raised to take pride in my appearance, and have always loved the ritual of getting dressed in the morning.  that is besides the point.  the point is that none of my pre-pregnancy pajama pants fit me comfortably anymore.  nor do any of my husband’s.  this, combined with the severely cold midwestern winter, has forced me into onesie territory.  you know, the big fleece numbers with built in feet and a zipper that runs from ankle to neck in one long unbroken line of dowdiness.  i have no shame.  they are warm, accommodate my growing middle, and keep my perpetually cold feet warm and toasty.  PLUS, the set i wear most often has planets and glow-in-the-dark stars all over it.  WIN.

i plan to buy our baby plenty of these soft, fleece creations.  there is only a small window of time in one’s life where such things are considered cute.  this is the same reason why i plan to buy the little one a good number of hats with animal ears, like this one:

hat from hatsmybaby.

i really hope our baby doesn’t grow up to resent me for this.  stay tuned for a 13 week bump picture tomorrow!

10 week picture-“bump” watch.

i don’t think i can put the word bump in quotes anymore.  there’s no denying little k. now!

and from the other side:

so the “bump” watch is now the bump watch–no quotes needed.  it feels pretty good.