Penny's Six Month Photos/Our Family Pictures!

remember Penny's adorable newborn photos?

well, the amazing Shannon Leigh Studios has created magic again...

I mean, could she BE any cuter?!

Also, Shannon was amazing enough to capture some family shots of us - here are three of my favorites!

aren't they great?

If you're in the Atlanta area and looking for a newborn/child photographer we have nothing but AMAZING things to say about Shannon Leigh Studios! Shannon is amazing and so great to work with! 

Penny's First Chrismakkah Season!

that's right friends, this month Penelope celebrated her first Chrismakkuh season, here are the highlights...

first up, we went to DJ's parents house for their annual Hanukkah party, Penny rocked a huge headband, so silly but I loved it AND she had her first taste of latkes [she loved them, just like her mama and daddy]...

Penny and I also went to the Botanical Gardens and saw the lights! Such a fun night (though someone was a little sleepy)...

 Penny was also my date to my work holiday party... she was quite the hit!

enjoyed sleeping in with me (and cuddling with her pup) during our vaca (we're both home from school for two weeks!)

then we took PJ to meet the big guy, yup, SANTA! she was clearly, not impressed... oh well, she was still on the nice list, I promise!

from there, we woke up on Christmas morning and celebrated Penny's first Christmas!

so there you have it. it was a ton of fun - PJ was definitely more interested in the boxes and tissue paper than the actual gifts but it was so great to celebrate the holidays with HER, she truly made the whole season more meaningful, exciting and special. we're so excited to mark another "first" off the list - and now onto plan her valentines outfits ;)

Sarasota Sunsets...

I know I already did the two part recaps to our Sarasota trip (part 1, part 2) but I wanted to share a few of my favorite sunset pictures (so yes, I had to do a separate post... I like to split things up, sue me!).

Anyways, there's nothing like a sunset on the west coast of Florida... actually, I had never experienced a Sarasota sunset before and I was not disappointed! here are a few of my favorite shots from that evening...

how lucky is penelope?

within her first six months she's experienced some of natures masterpieces including a beautiful sunrise on wrightsville beach and now, added to the list - a beautiful sunset on Lido Beach! 

hopefully we can continue to share natures wonders and beauties with her!

Sarasota Sunshine: Days 3 & 4...

[check out our first two days of vacation here]
so after the holiday party friday night - we woke up saturday morning feeling a liiiiiittttttle under the weather [ahem, hungover]. of course, Penny wanted nothing to do with it. she was WIDE AWAKE and ready to play...

we headed out to brunch with my mom and then from there walked around downtown Sarasota a bit, hit up the farmers market [which we LOVED, if you are ever in Sarasota on a Saturday morning definitely check it out!]

then we headed off to the beach for a bit and took in the beautiful sunset...

from there we headed to dinner and walked around St. Armands Circle (thanks Melissa for the recommendations!). we headed back to the hotel, put PJ down and hung out for a bit and then crashed. The next day we woke up and met our friends Mike & Carin for brunch and met their son Mason (aka Penny's future boyfriend). It was a blast to hangout with them for a bit, swap baby war stories and just catchup.

such a fun and relaxing weekend! we had a great (but exhausting) trip home and by the time we landed in ATL Ms. P was down for the count!

luckily she went down easily when we got home and wasn't thrown off too bad from the trip as far as her schedule, mood, eating, etc. Thanks Sarasota for the sunshine & relaxation! DJ has already been back since our trip and I'm looking forward to getting back there sometime in the Spring (more time on the beach, yes please!).

fingers crossed it's sooner rather than later! I would do anything to be in a warm sunny location rather than rainy cold and grey Atlanta right now! BRRRRR... is it Spring yet? anyways, happy almost last saturday night (sunday morning?) of 2012!

penny girl: 4, 5, 6 & 7 months! {aka catchup time}.

so remember those monthly recaps I was going to do? hah. yeah. about that. well, in case you were wondering Penny is not still 3 months old - she's over 7 months already [holy crap, what?]... anyways here is what the last few months have looked like over here....

Penelope at 4 months...

Penelope at 5 months...

Penelope at 6 months...

Penelope at 7 months...

oh man. time really has flown by and Penny is getting more fun every day. I can't even begin to express how much fun it is to be a mom [yes, and sometimes stressful, exhausting and overwhelming - but lets focus on the positive right now]. Penny is at such a fun age - she is sitting up and babbling and just such a little PERSON. She's started saying dada and mama - not necessarily at us but you know still. I'm on the edge of my seat just waiting to walk in the room and have her see me and say MAMA. she's such an expressive little gal - she waves her little arms, talks, smiles and oh yes - she has mastered the "stank face" there are definitely times when she is not happy and she is NOT afraid to share it. I'm so excited for the future and what else is coming our way but also trying to soak up every little second. I was going through her old clothes and trying to decide what to keep and what to donate and I could NOT believe how small her clothes were and that she was that small once... I remember how huge her 3 month clothes seemed and then her 6 month clothes and now she's starting to wear her 9 month outfits! GAH. SLOW DOWN. anyways, here's to living in the now and soaking up all her itty bitty baby moments and milestones.

Sarasota Sunshine: Days 1 & 2...

earlier this month we took a fun family vaca to sunny Sarasota, FL! we went down for DJ's holiday party and to spend some time with my mom - it was win-win. My mom hadn't seen Penny since she was a week old so it was so fun to watch them together and for her to see how much P had grown/changed in six months. Also, since DJ works remotely it was great for him to spend some time in the "office" and for me to meet his co-workers!

here are the highlights of our trip - there are a LOT of pictures so I decided to break the posts up... get ready...

first up, the flights! yup, it was P's first flight and she was a little champ! she did great the first flight. I nursed during take-off and landing and she slept for the majority of the flight, the second flight was not bad - she wouldn't nurse during landing and cried for the last five minutes or so before we landed but hey, could be worse!

on the plane --

we had a quick lunch with DJ before he headed off to work...

I headed off and checked into the hotel... BEAUTIFUL. just what we needed!

then PJ and I headed to Target to pick-up the essentials (diapers, wipes, baby yogurt, etc.) that I didn't want to fly with. P was beat and she took a little siesta in her stroller (ermahgawd - her thighs)....

we had a relaxing dinner with some of DJ's coworkers that night and then put P down -- we got a little creative... bathroom, nursery? all the same!

the next day we met up with my mom and she was smitten from the start...

mom spent some QT with PJ while I got a much needed haircut...

and then, off we went to the holiday party - which was a blast! so fun to dress-up and have a fun night out on the town (thanks grandma for babysitting)!

so those were our first two nights in Sarasota - another post with our next day of vaca coming up soon!