Weekending with the Birthday Boy

Whew, I'm wiped coming off of this weekend, and it's because we celebrated MG's birthday Saturday night and stayed out a wee bit later than we normally do (as in, much later).

The weekend was packed with highlights though! Although the majority of the photos are of Ella...shocking I know :)

~Friday night we stayed in and cooked dinner that we were gonna make Thursday night but I hadn't felt like making so we'd ordered pizza on Thursday. Low key night in with our little miss was really nice.

~Saturday morning was MG's birthday and the birthday boy was given his present in the morning, along with baby snuggles--the best present of all!

~Ella finally fits into these adorable joggers that I got her a couple of months ago, and I was so excited! She looked so damn cute, I couldn't take it

~The Holiday was on, and we, of course, had to watch it

~We went out for a little bit and listened to Christmas music the whole way

~Ella's diaper leaked while we were out and we changed her in the tailgate of our car...#parentlife #babiesstillpooponyourbirthday

~in the early evening, we started getting Ella ready for bed, and a coworker of mine came over to babysit Ella so we could go out to dinner with our best couple friends. Luckily she went down easily and we got on our way!

~Our friends announced that they are pregnant!!! We've been waiting for this news for a while and were SO excited!! 

~We had dinner at a place of MG's choosing, and then went to a bar we used to frequent back in our 20s, and several of MG's friends came out to meet up. It was entertaining being out in the bar mayhem, but I will say I don't miss being bumped and jostled around, and not being able to hear well enough to have a good conversation. #yesimold

~We stayed out until a little after 11 and then came home. Ella had slept soundly the whole time we were gone and continued to sleep well the rest of the night.

~MG woke up feeling less than stellar, but there was a bright spot to his morning which included this nugget sleeping until 8am! #bless

~We got Panera for breakfast because neither of us felt like cooking anything

~Ella went down for a nap and I went to get groceries etc for the week

~The afternoon involved more snuggles and lounging around the house

~We made it out in the afternoon for a family walk which felt good and helped wake me up a bit

~We ordered in Thai food and had a super low key night in, watching football (I'm number one in my fantasy football league still and going to playoffs). 

There may have been some pre-bedtime snoozing on the couch, too. Because #old.

MG said he had such a good time Saturday night, and I did too. It was nice to get some "adult" time in (even if we paid for it the next day haha) and not just be "mom" and "dad". I'm so thankful for this man who I not only love, but I really really like, too :) 

Hoping your weekend was fun-filled, too!

{WHW}: Minnesota'ing

Happy Wednesday, and pre-Thanksgiving day, friends!!

I'm back today with my recap of our super fun trip to Minnesota!

This weekend we:

~managed to make our 8:10am flight after MG realized on our drive to the airport that our flight wasn't at 8:30 like he had thought (oops)

~had a successful first flight with Ella. She took two short naps on the plane and only screeched a few times.

~Made it to MN and got picked up by our friends at the airport. We ordered in lunch at their house from our favorite place there--Yum!--and then Michelle and I went to get our nails done while the boys stayed with the kids.

~Ella bear got her first taste of what Winter really feels like

~Ella conked out for bed on east coast time, and then MG, Michelle and I went and had drinks at a speakeasy, and then went out to dinner at Freehouse and Kev joined us later after his team meetings

(the food and drinks were soooooo good)

fried cheese curds and their specialty beer-cocktails

~Woke up Sunday morning to lots of loving from the kids. Ella was definitely a star attraction

~Got ourselves ready for the game and left the little girls at home with their trusted babysitter.

~Got onto the field pre-game and got to see all kinds of players up close and personal, in addition to our traditional photo with Kev before the game

~The game was SO good--and the Vikings put a hurting on the Rams who are also leading their division, so this was a HUGE win!

~Michelle noticed that 3 of the girls from The Bachelor/Bachelor in Paradise were at the game, a few rows in front of us (Lauren, Emily and Haley), and I ended up getting a pic with two of them (the other twin is in the background) #superhighlight

(Lauren complimented the color of my shirt...no big deal lol)

~Tailgated in the players'/coach's parking lot after the game and had celebratory drinks with them as they came out--so so fun!

~Had dinner in at home (Ella tried pieces of pot roast carrots for the first time and was a big fan), and just spent time hanging out until we all crashed for bedtime

~We woke up Monday, had breakfast and then headed to the airport around 10am to catch our flight. Even the second time around, it was easier (we learned from our first mistakes). It also helped that we got upgraded to first class (although I felt that much more nervous when Ella would screech). She was a trooper and napped for an hour and ten minutes of the flight though. 

first class at 6 months...lol

The only glitch we had was that she decided to poop during the final descent, when we couldn't get up to change her. And it leaked through her jammies....so that was a fun clean up after de-planing but we still survived it!

The whole trip was fantastic! It was SO great to see our friends, get to spend quality time with the boys, see a Vikings win, meet the Bachelor girls, and get Ella's first plane ride under our belts! Time went by way too quickly, as it always does when you're with great people and it just makes us wish they lived closer so we could do it more often.

Now it's your turn to share what's hap-"pinning" with you!

My Best Friend's Wedding

It's about time that I got my act together and posted pics from my best friend's wedding now that the professional photos are back!

On Friday morning (Sept 4th) MG and I woke up at 5am in Ocean City NJ to catch the ferry (because going on 95 S on a Friday towards a beach town is no bueno). The ferry was a really nice experience and made the journey that much more relaxing.

We got into VA Beach around 1pm and had some down time before the rehearsal.

The rehearsal was at a gorgeous country club on the water!

 

We had the rehearsal dinner afterwards and got to spend time just chatting, catching up, and relaxing before the big day

The next morning I was up early and headed over to Genna's parents house (which is insanely gorgeous btw) for hair and make up. We had yummy lunch from Taste Unlimited--my favorite when I'm in the VA Beach area.

our cute and comfy Bridesmaids shirts

Before we knew it, it was 2pm and we had to head over to the country club and get ourselves together, and get our girl into her gorgeous dress. 

I mean, how stunning is she?

 

We took photos before the wedding ceremony which turned out gorgeous--the colors of the flowers and dresses, and the background just worked so well!

 

 

Love this girl!

They did a first look and the photos were adorable--here's one of my faves:

Before the wedding ceremony, they signed the ketubah (which is part of a Jewish wedding--sort of like vows written down), and I was Genna's witness

Then we lined up and got ready to get our girl hitched! The ceremony was quick, the weather was beautiful, and everything went off without a hitch!

 

Then it was time for cocktails, dinner, and party time! My handsome husband and I enjoyed our baby free evening :)

At the end of all of the eating, drinking, and dancing, we sent off the bride and groom on a boat ride--

Sorry for the picture overload, but there were so many good ones to choose from that I just included a bunch!
I'm so happy that my best friend found her partner. Seeing her with him, she was so at ease and so herself that it just made me happy watching them together.
Genna, thank you for having me be a part of your special day. I love you so much and am still so incredibly happy for you! 

{WHW}: Solo Mom

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Sorry for being MIA the first part of the week, but I'm flying solo this week since MG left for his work trip on Sunday. Not completely solo since my MIL has been with me until today, and then my mom is coming. Thank goodness for their help!

This weekend was a lot of fun, even though it included MG's departure.

~Friday I had a training outside of my school building since it was a teacher workday, and at the start I got to snuggle on my supervisor's baby (her husband was there to help with the audio for our meeting, and he brought their son). After dropping Ella off at daycare, it was nice to get in some extra baby snuggles

~That night we picked up food and had a quiet night in, playing with Ella before bed, and then we watched the first couple episodes of Fuller House season 3 since it had just come out that day. Love that show!

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~Saturday morning MG had to go in to work for a couple of hours (yeah, his work was on my S-list this weekend lol) so Ella and I had some mommy baby time together.

~MG got home and we had my friend and her boyfriend over to grill out. It was our first time meeting him and he was awesome. They are such a cute couple! Combined with some yummy burgers, homemade fries, and some sangria....perfect!

~Right as our friends left, MG's parents arrived--so our house was basically a revolving door haha. It was nice to have them here and catch up. 

That night we ordered food in again (because, lazy) and once Ella went to bed, we watched the Seinfeld comedy special on Netflix. If you haven't seen it, watch it--it's pretty funny!

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~Sunday morning MG's dad hit the road and MG and I ran errands The rest of the day we watched football and obsessed over our fantasy football teams. This girl is now in the number 1 spot of her league (and without a lot of help from MG this week). 3-0!

~MG left in the middle of the afternoon for his flight so it was just me, Ella, and my MIL. Oh, and Ella decided to FINALLY take a full 2 hour nap in the afternoon which she seems to only do at daycare and has NEVER done with us. I, of course, spent the time obsessively checking the monitor figuring she'd wake up any second lol.

~Danielle and I also have started a "our husbands are traveling for work" support group/text between the two of us, which has been really nice to check in, and also vent about the trials and tribulations of being "home alone" with the kids haha.

We've been using the Nested Bean sleep sack and miss Ella girl has been sleeping through the night again. Praise! I don't know if it was this sack, or what, but she's now got both arms out and needs no pacifier to go to sleep. Whatever happened, I'm 100% ok with it!  (Coincidentally, Nested Bean is having a one day sale today with 15% off using the code PUMPKINSPICE so if you need/want one, jump on this today!--not sponsored, just trying to be helpful)

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I'm hoping your week is going well! Pray that Ella and I make it through the rest of the week ok.

Now it's your turn to link up with Jessi and I to share what's hap-"pinning" with you!

Wedding Weekend Fun

Could it be that I'm actually posting on a Monday??? I'm not entirely sure how that happened because man, I'm exhausted coming off of our 3rd road trip away with baby! 

MG and I had a wedding on Saturday for one of his friends from HS so we made our way up to PA on Thursday evening during Ella's normal bedtime, and our lady love slept the entire 3 hours!! All the praise hands!

We got there around 10 and promptly put Ella and ourselves to bed. In the morning there was lots of time for snuggles and attention :)

Friday morning we drove over to our friend Kev/Michelle's parents' house (our Minnesota friends) so that we could see them, their 3 kiddos and let them all meet Ella. It was awesome to spend time with them, but about an hour later those 2 were off to celebrate their 10 year anniversary sans kids and we stuck around with their kids playing for a bit.

MG and I eventually made our way to a restaurant nearby to meet up with two other of his best friends--the ones from Charleston with their cute 13 month old, and MG's best friend from NY whose wife is pregnant (we found out the gender at lunch!).

It was great having all of us together, with the kids. The service was super slow, but that just allowed us more time to hang out (and for me to nurse in public--covered--for the second time ever).

That night we headed to my SIL's house so they could see Ella. We ordered dinner in and just hung out for the night--I love the laid back nights where you don't have to DO anything other than spend time together.

Saturday morning was pretty low key and then my other SIL came over with my two nieces, one of whom is 13 and incredible with doing hair and makeup, so she curled my hair for the wedding and did my eye makeup.

Around 3:45 MG and I left to go meet up with our friends before the wedding festivities for a drink. We drove around blasting music and dancing around in the car because....no baby! 

After grabbing a drink we made our way to the wedding/reception at a country club. The views were gorgeous and once the sun set, it was super nice outside. Prime photo taking opportunities ensued.

the pink and green alternating ties was not planned 

The night was full of laughter and fun--I seriously love this group of MG's friends who have become my friends, and really, our family.

I had another "mom" experience when I had to go and find a place to pump during the reception. And I realized that my dress didn't unzip so guess who got to sit with my friend Michelle, with my dress around my shoulders? #thisgirl lol (The things we do to keep our babies alive, amIright?)

After dinner, dancing, photoboothing, and a Dirty Dancing reenactment by my husband and Michelle's husband (no seriously), the night was over all too quickly and we were heading back home to our sleeping baby who was well cared for by my MIL and two SILs while we were gone. Our first time away for more than 2 hours was a complete and total success!

We got home and in bed around midnight and Ella continued to sleep until 6:45...praise Jesus for our good sleeper. We were still exhausted but much less so than we would have been otherwise.

We had breakfast, packed up and hit the road at 10 and our awesome girl slept until the last 20 minutes, during which she was pretty easily calmed. 

We unpacked and lounged around the house, and then visited an open house in our neighborhood to see what updates they'd done, ran some errands and then grabbed Chipotle for dinner because neither of us was in the mood to cook.

So here we are! Another awesome weekend that just makes us wish that these friends all lived closer instead of spread throughout the country. I'm so grateful for these friends that I inherited from my husband because they are seriously some of the best.

The only drawback to this weekend was the fact that I missed my best friend's bachelorette party, but I was there in spirit and am definitely excited for when I get to see her and tackle her in 2 weeks! #loveyougenna (how is it almost august already???)

Hoping your weekend was friend-filled and fantastic, too!