Saturday, June 18, 2011

More Lombo, please!

So, Joe's lovely sister Andrea and her husband Luke are moving to Madison, WI come the end of this month so she can further her medical career. Which is awesome for them. But, needless to say, we are a bit bummed that they are going to be so far away. Especially since they make fantastic salsa and baked goods. Aware of our sadness, the invited us and a bunch of their couple friends to Fogo de Chao for a delicious goodbye dinner. (meaning that we dealt with our sadness of them moving away by stuffing our faces with an absurd amount of Brazillian meat).

Oh, and confession... we kiiiind of have a crush on all of Luke and Andrea's friends. They seriously crack me up.

Also, it was nice to get dressed up and get out just the two of us. We let the dogs watch the baby and they did a wonderful job.

Kidding, kidding.


Delicious papaya dessert


 Joe is so sultry


Ah! I'm going to miss her!




Thursday, June 16, 2011

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

My home sweet home...

Over the weekend, Cece and I embarked on her second trip to Chicago in honor of Auntie Robobo's second anniversary of her 21st birthday. And Sarah's permanent move back to Chicago. And Auntie Gina's acquisition of her new puppy, Archie. Basically, we believe no event is too small for celebrating. And celebrating means cake. And where we come from, it also means Grandma's sloppy Joe.

The higlights...


The classic sibling photo


Making sure that Joe was there in spirit.


Four generations... taken by cousin Lauren Leone


Another gorgeous photo from Lauren


Socializing the babies


Hanging with Auntie Rose and Auntie Robobo



Will channeling Bret Michaels


The weekend's confections, courtesy of Robbyn's boss cake connections

Leaving was so hard, as it always is. It's even harder now since Cece has won over so many people. I try to focus on how great it was to see everyone and the next visit. And that it's not goodbye... it's just a "Can't wait to see you next time."


Monday, June 6, 2011

Technology upgrades


We were weekend warriors. In addition to some long walks around the lake, a trip to the dog park, and a Target run, we also picked up a new computer (after much deliberation). It might not sound like a super full weekend, but when toting around a five-week-old baby, it was productivity of the highest degree.


What's even better is that we fixed (or rather Joe fixed) our slanted desk that used to be home to a lot of miscellaneous papers and the lap top which frequently featured the blue screen of death. We did some cleaning and some rearranging, so now we have a pretty slick office nook complete with a new printer and new speakers. I should have done a before and after photo, but the before was too embarassing to document.


And what's even better is that we now have skype abilities! Now, who would like to talk to us?

Friday, June 3, 2011

We feel pretty...

It's one of those days where not much is happening besides soothing the fussing and surviving the muggy-ness in an AC free apartment. BUT, it's a milestone day... we've put on our first dress! (As modeled in the swing below... that's where we photograph all of our outfits)






At 5 weeks old tomorrow, I feel like she is getting so big so fast! I get all emotional even about the smallest growth milestones (what do you MEAN she doesn't fit into newborn diapers anymore? Next thing you know, she'll be driving!) But, the last time she was wearing pink and polka dots, she was much tinier.





As for me, I just got my hair cut and eyebrows done, which makes me feel like a million bucks!




Ok, that's enough "look at us!" for now. Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

One month of motherhood...

I’ve decided to refurbish this nearly purposeless blog into a way to keep my faraway family (and friends) updated on the goings on in Minnesota. It’s something I could have done at any point in the past seven years (the time I have lived away from the motherland). However, it seems a little more important now that we have a baby who is growing rapidly and beautifully. Now the challenge (as it is with all started blogs) is actually keeping it updated.
Since February, the last time I opened this… many things have happened. We had three lovely baby showers thrown for us. As a result, we went from having zero baby things to having a bazillion baby things. I wrapped up my internship and continued working full time up until the day I went into labor.
So, on April 30th, Cecelia was born. I’ve never been particularly wonderful with kids. They're small and hard to make conversation with. I had never changed a diaper up until a month ago. Now, I can’t even imagine life without her and I find myself changing diapers literally in my sleep. It’s almost like she’s always been here. We’ve also been so lucky to have an amazing amount of support between all of the visitors at home and in the hospital.  Joe was able to take off one week of work after she was born. Then, when he went back to work my mom stayed with us for two weeks. We even managed a trip to Chicago to let Cece meet my family there.
It is just as difficult and just as wonderful as everyone tells you it’s going to be. We are so lucky in the sense that she is a fantastic baby.  Seriously. She’s the kind of baby that you can take on errands and go to eat with. (Seriously, I have witnesses) She’s also the kind of baby that throws up on everything while pooping simultaneously, so there’s a lot of laundry to do. I’ve had to redefine what a productive day is. Sometimes it’s hard accepting that I can only accomplish a fraction of what I used to in a day. Sometimes being productive just means being able to take a shower and put away the dishwasher. But, I’m fine with no makeup and wet hair if it means we can just rock and snuggle. Really, how can you have a bad day when you have this little awesome person to fall asleep on your shoulder?


In non-baby news, we have re-begun home searching. More specifically, duplex searching. The goal is to live in one side and rent out the other. So for the past month, we have also been doing a lot of house hunting. Joe has been more logistical in the search (can we afford it, will it be profitable, etc.), where as I have more fun envisioning what colors I would paint accent walls and what the best location for a distressed end table would be. Wish us luck, it’s a jungle out there.
So, here’s to sincerely trying to share what’s going on in our lives.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Las Vegas in February

A couple weeks ago, Joe and I went on our first grown-up trip (meaning not-sponsored by parents, although we did go with his older siblings who did much of the planning). Las Vegas isn't really meant for pregnant ladies ( I couldn't really capitalize on the free drinks served in the casinos.), but I still had a fabulous time

Hoover Dam

Joe being a dam fool

Crazy High Bridge across from Hoover Dam


Paris


The strip


The Bellagio


New York


The group (Luke was taking the photo)


These are a few of the fun sights including Paris, The Bellagio water fountain's and "New York." We also saw the Blue Man Group (no photography during the show, much to everyone's dismay, especially after Andrea got pulled up on stage). We also saw a sexy/cheesy pirate show at Treasure Island.

No one won big, but no one really played big. The penny slots seemed to hold the most draw for everyone.
Although the trip was only 3.5 days long, it was great to get away for just a little bit, sleep in, eat out and get dressed up. For our next trip (anywhere), we'll probably have to find  a babysitter along with a dog sitter. Any takers????