whoopsies.

oops... I.... did it again. fell of the face of the earth that is. whoopsies.

well, I'm done groveling/making false promises of being a better blogger.

truth? I'm swamped.

I don't know when I'm not going to feel like I'm drowning and until then -- blogging is likely to be sporadic. not to say I don't miss my sweet little space on the interwebs. I do. I always think about how I should blog and what I want to blog about (seriously? SO MUCH)... but, alas, time is not on my side.

oh well.

here's to making a conscious effort at getting back at it [who needs sleep?]

with all that being said - here's what's going on....

though life is busy, life is grand.... AND I'm 30. what? 30. seriously? I remember when that seemed so far away and I got anxious about the idea of getting older -- now? I'm thrilled. I am so excited for my thirties and can honestly say I am so content and excited about where I am right now.

I have an amazing family, beautiful daughter, handsome and sweet husband, fulfilling career and a smile on my face.

so what else is going on? well, I don't talk about work/my job a lot on the blog, but I will share that I recently got a promotion! so exciting and just makes me thrilled to know that my hard work did not go unnoticed and all of the hours and effort were worth it. I feel like I'm leaving my mark and my career is taking a turn that is serendipitous and fruitful. BUT, with all that being said -- I am swamped, my plate is full and I feel like I'm constantly going, going, going when it comes to work [hence the lack of blogging].

Ms. Penelope is so fun, so sweet and so interactive - she brightens up our days more than words could ever describe. I feel like it's so cliche and something that we always say but she just keeps getting more and more fun. She truly is a little person now and I love the time I get to spend with her. I feel so blessed that she goes to school the building over from my office and that I am so close. We've been going strong with nursing for the past nine months [another area where I feel so blessed, I know that we've been so lucky to have such an easy time with it and I do NOT take it for granted]. I love the time that I get to spend with her during the day nursing her and I'm so proud of us and our journey [another thing I WANT to blog about, hopefully eventually].

What else? DJ -- oh DJ, where do I begin. I love that man. He drives me crazy, but I love him. We're settling into our roles as parents and this new part of our partnership. I love having him as a husband and I love watching him as a dad - Penny is definitely a daddy's girl in the making. Her eyes light up for him and I love their interactions. I am also so proud of DJ and his work, he has been definitely putting the hours in as well and it is paying off - he continues to grow and thrive in his career and I am so inspired by his drive, creativity and intellect [cheesy, but SO true].


why do I feel like I'm writing one of those Christmas letters to family? barf. with that - I'll stop here. more soon. I promise to post seven & eight month Penelope updates [aka picture dumps] soon and maybe I'll finally finish my 2012 in review post -- considering we're a month and half into 2013. oops.

anyways, I'll leave you with a few adorable pictures of my almost NINE month old (?!)...

until next time - goodnight poodles....

life, lately.

man. to say I'm due to give an update is an understatement. life has been quite a roller-coaster lately... I was waiting to blog about everything until things were resolved [I didn't want to throw myself a blog pity party] and I feel like we're at a great place and I'm ready to share.

so earlier in the summer (june-ish) DJ and I were on cloud nine, life was amazing - we had a sweet baby girl, great jobs and we were so close to being done with "basement living" - we found an apartment, had a date to move-in and I was SO freaking excited to not have to deal with the commute when I went back to work.

then on the last friday of June, DJ came downstairs after I was finishing up feeding Penny and sat on the ottoman and shared that he had lost his job - the company he worked for was out of the UK and they just called him and told him they were shutting down the entire US division.

shocked? yeah. I was too.

I had no words.

no severance, no notice. no clue if he was going to get his bonus that he had been working towards all quarter. keep in mind I had just gone back to work from maternity leave the day before and we had just got my paycheck for the past month which I basically didn't get paid ($32.00, holler).

did I mention I was in shock?

I was in shock.

My mind was spinning, even now two months later, I can distinctly remember that feeling sitting in the basement with my six week old daughter in my arms... I wanted to shut down. I came close to shutting down... but I had to give myself perspective... first, I was so thankful that we kept our insurance through my job and we didn't even have to think twice about that - especially for Penny. I was so thankful I decided to go back to work early (6 weeks maternity leave, 6 weeks working from home rather than the 8 weeks maternity leave, 4 weeks working from home we thought I was going to take - we literally made that decision 48 hours earlier). so thankful we were still in the basement and hadn't signed a lease. but most importantly, I was so thankful that I had DJ as partner - I (surprisingly) didn't breakdown but, honestly, I was optimistic.

I think my "serenity" had to do with two things - one, Penelope - how could I be distraught when we have this perfect, sweet, healthy creation who brought and brings so much joy into our lives? I couldn't. I realized that even though DJ had lost his job - we still had so much more than so many others and we were still incredibly lucky.

secondly, I was calm because I knew that even thought the timing was shit-tastic and I hate the instability it caused I had and have so much faith in DJ. Seriously, he is one of the smartest, most talented people I've ever encountered. I knew that something amazing was going to come his way and that any company that he got in front of would realize his worth and want him on board.

well, I'm not going to blow smoke and say that the last eight weeks were rainbows and sunshine - they were challenging, trying and at times exhausting and disheartening. but you know what? we got through it. DJ got to finish up his consulting work and side projects that had been looming over the past few months AND he got to do something that not many dads are lucky enough to do - he got to spend every day at home with his daughter for the the first fifteen weeks of her life. Granted, he was working either for his former company or consulting during that time but he still got that quality time that few get the chance to experience.

AND luckily- I was right to be optimistic... I'm happy to report that DJ is starting his new [and in my opinion improved] job on Tuesday and we're moving on Saturday. my job, as always was so supportive - they let me continue to telecommute for two days a week while I was commuting to make life easier/less hellish. I only have TWO days left next week of my 44 mile commute (my new commute to work will be less than 5 miles, can I get a hell yeah?)... and basement living? this time next week we'll be spending our last night as inhabitants of our lovely basement apartment in the 'burbs. I'm so excited to create our first little intown home as a party of four (ollie counts, duh).

so the cliffnotes version of this novella of a post: life doesn't always work out the way you think it will, or even originally how you want it to - but have a little patience and a faith in life and those you love and take deep breaths...

life is good. especially when you have a beautiful baby, snuggly pup and amazing love to share it with.

here's to moving forward and all the amazing things I know are coming are way...

phew.

phew. 

that wasn't so bad. 

first, thank you all so much for your sweet comments, texts, emails, tweets - everything. they really made yesterday so much more bearable... and to be honest. all in all, it wasn't so bad.

I got up at the crack of dawn [5:15am] - got showered, dressed, packed up all my stuff, got ready to go and then woke up sweet penny girl and changed her, fed her and handed her over to Danny and I was out the door at 6:30am, got to the office at 7:30 and got reacclimated with my office - a few other folks were using my office while I was out on leave so I setup my computer and got things set up "as I like them."  when I opened up my desk drawer I saw an envelope with my name on it and opened it up... this is what I found... 

man. this was exactly what I needed. I was wondering about this scholarship/student all summer and could not have been happier for this student, she truly is so deserving and it was a great way to start my first day back.

overall, the day went really smoothly.. I truly am lucky because I work in such a supportive environment, also, I was ridiculously busy yesterday which really did help. I purposefully filled my last two hours in the office with student meetings so they would go by faster - it helped, the day flew by. I think it also helped that I had been working from home the past six weeks, I knew what I had to get done and that transition of "working" again had already happened... it was just distraction free... I also got my dual screens back... oh I love me some dual screens...

[pictures of your adorable as new desktop images also help...]

DJ was also great, we skyped during my lunch hour and he sent me adorable pictures of my babies like this one...

[caption of this photo/text: Ollie is watching his sister practice flashing people while daddy yells at both of them -- haha, special]

I also am starting to figure out my new routine... which includes plenty of time with this new friend...

If you plan on going back to work/pumping I definitely recommend getting a handsfree support/bra/thing -- it makes pumping so much "doable" when you can get other things done at the same time [what can I say, I'm a multi-tasker.  

with that, I wrapped up my day at 4:30 meeting all of my goals for the day...

[don't cry at work, no breakdowns, leave by 4:30, get to work by 7:30]

got home at 5:30, woke my sweet pea up from her nap to feed her, had dinner with fam, went to go get fro-yo to celebrate surviving my first day back and then fed Penny her bottle at 8:30pm [an hour past her bedtime, selfish I know, sorry moms on call!]

why, yes that is my three month old baby holding her own bottle... baby genius, I know.

then I crashed and went to bed at 10pm and woke up at 5:15am to do it all again. 

wow. 

welcome to my new life...

I'm going to reflect on this some and write a post about some helpful tips on this whole process... but I figure I should have more than 24 hours experience before writing that, hah.

do you have any helpful "going back to work" tips that I should share with others new moms?

back to the grind.

yup. tomorrow is the day that has been looming in the back of my head for the past twelve weeks week - I go back to the office tomorrow. oh man. [deep breath] I'll be honest, I'm extremely conflicted. on one hand, I truly do enjoy what I do [most days] and the people I work with - and I'm excited about going back to work.

on the other hand, I feel a bit guilty about that - shouldn't I be completely dreading this?   BUT that's the thing, while I'm not dreading it I am getting a little pang of hurt in my heart that I'm leaving my sweet pea... the fact that we still haven't moved closer to work for unforeseen circumstances [to be shared at a later date] makes this even more difficult... I have to get in the car and drive over an hour to work, work eight hours and drive over an hour home. I'm going to get home in time to eat dinner/spend around an hour with Penny before she goes to bed.... and the days I have to work late? I won't see her other than when I feed her before I leave for work.

shit. 

...and now, I'm crying.

I guess my heart isn't quite as cold and frigid as we all thought it was.

I know this will get easier when we move closer to the city and I'm not spending three hours in the car alone and when she's in school/daycare near my work and I can pop in and see her... but I'm already emotionally and physically exhausted thinking of the next few weeks. I feel like I'm just going to miss her so much -- it makes it worse [selfishly] that I'm the only thing that's changing and being removed from the situation... I'm the only one leaving her behind. she'll be home with DJ and his mom and they get to see her giggle all day long, kiss her sweet chubby cheeks, feed her bottles and just be in her presence.

ugh. 

then I remind myself, we have bills to pay -- and, money aside, I worked pretty damn hard for that masters degree that I get to use day in and day out. I don't just have a job, I have a career and a passion. This might be something that I'm able to walk away from one day and hang up on a shelf and say - well we had a good run. But that day is not today, that year is not this year. I get to make a difference in my job and I thrive on that. I just hope that by working to make a difference in lives of the students I work with I don't miss out on the opportunity to make a difference in the one life that I truly want to mold and impact - Penelope's.

so I hear I sit. I crumbled mess of emotions not quite sure how to feel or what I feel.... AND in other news, DJ [who is oblivous to the fact that I'm crying - gotta love observant men] just put on Call Me, Maybe? and is jamming out -- yup. cloud lifted. smile on my face.

gotta love that man.

emotional rant over.

I'm going to go hug on my music snob husband who loves himself some Carly Rae Jepsen, that's my special boy...

If you really knew me...

I've seen a handful of these posts on various blogs I follow [Stephanie, Megan, Anna and Kristen most recently] and I've loved reading them so I thought I'd share some random bits of me -- 

If you really knew me, you'd know...

I'm left-handed and smudge everything when I write, I'm allergic to cinnamon, and I don't just have one baby - I have two. I truly do consider Oliver my baby. I love him, don't judge.

I don't wash my hair everyday... usually two or three days pass between washings -- let's be real, four days happens quite often too.

I was born in Qatar and raised in Cyprus - I had a British accent until I was eight.  I hate when people ask me "what are you?" my response is usually "excuse me? I don't understand." If people ask me where I'm from, I usually respond Florida.  For the record - if you want to know my ethnicity - I'm half Iranian, a quarter Norwegian and a quarter Irish.

I'm an introvert and I get really uncomfortable in social situations where I don't know people well. I'm really shy, which sometimes comes off as indifferent or bitchy. But yes, sometimes I'm just bitchy.

I read ridiculously fast and I love logic puzzles.  I still balance my checkbook (pretty much daily), like with a ledger and pen -- old school, I know. 

One of the first things I do when I get home for the day is change into sweatpants -- if I don't have anywhere to go that day, I'm likely not changing out of sweatpants the next morning.

I'm 29 and I still consider my sorority a huge part of my life and joining ZTA one of the best decisions I ever made. It lead me to some of my best friends, my passion and ultimately in a round-about-way my career.

I did not want to have kids until around four years ago -- I made my mother cry when I was in high school because I told her she was never going to be a grandma. [I know, total bitch move]

Losing my father was the most difficult thing I've ever been through - I still have days where I would do anything to talk to him. I don't think I will ever fully get over his death.

I had braces when I was a kid but didn't wear my retainer - so my bottom teeth are all sorts of crooked and I'm super self-conscious about it.

I slept with a stuffed bunny until I got married.  I like being the big spoon [hence I swapped out the bunny for a husband].

I love my husband like no other but we bicker a LOT, we're honestly probably really annoying to be around. We squabble daily, but I truly think we have one of the strongest marriages I've ever encountered.

I am not religious - I consider myself agnostic. My father was Episcopalian, my mother is Muslim and I'm married to a Jew.

I am a crybaby. Like - super, super crybaby.

so.

that's me.

what's something I'd only know about you if I really knew you?
those that really know me - what did I leave off?

me & my fan.

so...

I had a moment the other day... 

...with a fan.

no. not this kind of fan...

...though I am a belieber.

{via}

this kind of fan...

{via}

see. I had just worked out [aka huffed and puffed for a mile on the treadmill and then started feeling sorry for myself for how out of shape I was] and came downstairs to take a shower. I gave Penny to DJ and they headed upstairs to have some coffee [just DJ, don't worry, hah]. so I decided to take advantage of a little "me time" and I laid on the floor in Penny's nursery to do some crunches.

well.

I laid down.

and just started watching the fan.

I kinda got lost in it.

I don't know what it was about watching the lights and blades that put me in a daze of sorts.

so there I am,

laying on the floor of my daughters bedroom [crib-room?]... 

crying.  

awesome.

I think I was emotional because I was reading about the shooting in Aurora [or maybe I'm just emotional, hah - yeah that's probably it]. I started crying at first because I was just sad that we live in a world that something like that can be a reality... then honestly, I started having a pity party - there are a few things that aren't quite going as planned/our way currently...blech. not fun.


then. I kinda snapped out if and was crying out of disbelief for lack of a better word -- I had a get over yourself moment and was crying because for all the things that aren't going right - there are so many more important things that ARE going right and I'm pretty freaking lucky... I get to spend the rest of my life with my soulmate [as freaking annoying as he is sometimes, I love him and I'll keep him] and then I can't even get started on Penelope. She's this perfect little ball of joy -- I get lost just looking at her. the love and bond that I feel for her transcends anything I have ever felt [met only by the love I feel for her daddy]. DJ and I created her -- she is us. that still just gets me at the core.  I could write for pages on the love I feel for our sweet p but I'll just say this - I realize how lucky I am that we have a healthy baby, a sweet, happy, giggly beautiful little girl and she makes my heart melt. we have a roof over our heads [granted, still in the basement - but hey, it could be so much worse], we have health insurance, we have love, we have a sweet smelly bulldog [who needs a bath], we do not go hungry, we have nice things.  


I'll be honest, sometimes I get so lost in what isn't right or what we don't have that I just need moments like this to snap me out of it and just come back to earth and realize that yes, while my life isn't perfect it still is pretty fucking great. 


almost always [seriously ALWAYS] when DJ and I fight he brings up the "p" word... perspective.  it's like the DJ version of the following hashtag/twitter phrase #firstworldproblems in my face [it's so annoying, especially because he's usually right, ugh - hate it]. I suppose this time, I gave myself a little perspective and it was just what I needed.

...and then Oliver came and drooled on my face and I snapped out of it and did some crunches... and by some crunches I did 25 and was over it and took a shower.

nothing like bulldog drool to bring you back to reality.

so yeah.

what a rollercoaster.

high highs, low lows.

I just plan to keep on keepin' on and enjoy the ride.

have you had a good cry lately?

me and mine...

why not. 

this sounds fun. 

want to know a little more about me? 

okay!

here goes...

I'm annahita.

[and thats Oliver, showing his goods for all to see - clearly, not a modest dog]

I'm a wife, educator, food-fantatic, nap lover, bad reality tv addict, travel junkie, ZTA sister [collegiate, turned alum, turned advisor], and most recently - I'm a mom! 

I'm 29.
[yes. holy shit. only one year left in my twenties].

I've traveled to four continents [North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania]
over the span of my education/career I've lived on five different college campuses...
yup. I spent a decade living on college campuses.
[I have stories for days...]

I went to UCF for my undergraduate degree...

[celebrating homecoming a few years back with my sorority sisters]

...AND... I'm a proud SC Gamecock [I got my masters degree from USC]...

[yup. I love college football. obsessed.]

I hate when strangers talk to me, mushrooms and automatic papertowel dispensers in bathrooms.

I walk fast.
I read fast.
I type fast.
I eat slow.
I really, really, really like lemonade.
[....and pinot noir]

I love to sleep, read, take pictures, snuggle with my pup, run and practice yoga... and as you already saw college football [oh and pizza... I love pizza]

I love my sweet husband DJ [danny j] and we had a funny, very short or very long courtship depending on how you look at it... we've been friends since we were 13... I promise to share our whole story very soon...

[pictured here our senior year of high school]

...we eloped on January 1st, 2010...

...and had a wedding with our friends and family on December 31st, 2010...

[love.]

If I could relive one day over and over again it woud be the day that I got married [the first time]

...even though I sometimes tell my husband otherwise, it's the best decision I've ever made.

I'm obsessed with my english bulldog Oliver... he's the man.

...and our family grew by one more just a little over 2 months ago when our sweet daughter Penelope was born! 

yup. she's the most beautiful baby in the world.

okay, I'm a little biased.

welp.

that's me.

not perfect by any means.

but so happy to be living this life alongside some amazing people.

your turn.

tell me about you?

what I'm loving wednedsay...

happy wednesday! or in my case - happy day that my best friend is coming to visit and finally meeting my sweet daughter! in other news - Penny is EIGHT WEEKS old today...?! what? I feel like just yesterday I was finding out I was pregnant (or complaining about still being pregnant, ha) and now we've had our Sweet P in this world for almost two months. man. life is good.  so anyways, here's what I'm loving on this gloomy wednesday afternoon --

I'm loving... Starbucks Iced Coffee VIA's - seriously. LOVE them. It's becoming a part of my daily routine [yes, they're a little pricey but so tasty and cheaper than going to Starbucks everyday]

I'm loving... the adorable outfit Ms. P is wearing today -- "...and on Wednesday's we wear PINK!"*

I'm loving... Moms On Call - Penny is officially sleeping through the night! I love the routine we have going with her and the fact that she has not gotten up in the middle of the night in almost two weeks. Mommy getting 8 hours of sleep = life is good for everyone!

I'm loving... the last two guys standing on the Bachelorette - I'm just not going to know what to do with myself when this season is over, I've become so invested. I know, I know - pathetic, party of one.

I'm loving... that I get to see my best friend in less than 12 hours!

I'm loving... maxi dresses [other than yoga/sweat pants I really haven't worn much else this summer]. namely, I love this adorable dress that I got from Target.

[only $27.99, #winning]

as always -- I'm loving... my sweet husband and adorable pup!

[I'm also loving that I'm dropping this baby weight and my arms have gotten smaller than they were in this picture... wahoo! judge away, I'm excited.]

and I'm loving... my sweet, sweet baby girl Penelope.**

happy wednesday lovies!

*just had to sneak the Mean Girls reference in, I can't help myself...

**things I'm not loving - that my baby now shares a name with a kardashian. boo, hiss. whatever, we know who came first!

back to work....

that's right...

I've gone back to work.

holy cow...

6 weeks flew by.

now, let's talk for a minute about how lucky I am -- I originally was planning on taking the full 12 weeks of maternity leave off but after conversations with work we came to a mutually beneficial agreement... I went back to work last week (after six weeks of leave) but I'm working from home for the next six weeks. that's right -- the best of both worlds... income/mental stimulation/not getting behind the 8-ball at work AND I get to work in sweatpants still get this quality time in with my Pen!

It's definitely challenging working from home, especially since Penny has decided that no place in the world is better than mommy's arms... so I'm not exactly working 9-5, I've taken to working at random hours (aka answering work emails during 4am feedings).

lucky for me, I have the following five things that make working from home a little easier...

first, the fisher-price rainforest bouncer... penny loves her bouncer, pair the bouncer with a paci and I can usually get a good 20-30 stretches of work without having to pick her up...

[bulldog babysitter not included...]

second, my carrier [Beco Butterfly 2 Baby Carrier - Niko] - this is my "go-to" [also, last-ditch-effort] on calming down a fussy Penny... it also lets me hold her and keep her close while having two free hands to type...

[check out that sleepy little smile, she's so freaking sweet...]

third & fourth -- gotta love those apple products - my iPad and [brand-spanking-new] MacBook Air make working while nursing so much easier thanks to being lightweight and easy to work with/type on/hold in my lap while holding and/or nursing Penny...

lastly and most importantly.... what makes my life so much easier? not just working at home but easier on so many levels... my sweet DJ. he's such an involved [and amazing] dad! he's working from home too and definitely pitches in when I need him too. I'm so lucky to have such a supportive husband and Penelope is so lucky to have such a loving dad! 

[yup, we have a daddy's girl in the making]

so as challenging as I'm sure it's going to be at times, I'm currently loving life at home with my girl -- especially when I get to cuddle like this on my breaks... seriously. so. freaking. sweet.

[in other news, Brooke Shields called and wants her eyebrows back... time to get me to a salon, stat]

anyone else have tips to working from home?

I'm welcome to any ideas on a more productive work environment/day!

what I'm loving wednesday: the newborn edition...

sorry if this blog is turning into a baby blog - I promise some posts on random jibber-jabber and cute pictures of Oliver soon but for now - all things baby are taking over my brain so that's what you're getting!

hopefully the hospital essentials (first, second and third trimester essentials) that I shared have been helpful to some of you out there! so to continue on with sharing my all-knowing wisdom experiences... here are the things that made our first few weeks adjusting to being a family of four [what? oliver counts] so much easier!

so with all that being said - here is what I'm loving when it comes to "newborn lifesavers" - these are the things that have just made our lives so much easier the past few weeks...

first, I'm obsessed with our aden + anais muslin swaddle blankets - they're great for swaddling as well as just a nice lightweight blanket that we can use all the time and all over the place... these get used daily if not every hour on the hour in our house...

another thing that we use daily/hourly are these Gerber Prefold Cloth Diapers - but not as diapers... we use these as burp clothes, to wipe Penny's face, as a bib when breastfeeding - for SO many things... these are so versatile and I literally find myself always looking for one/grabbing one - especially when I'm nursing Penny!

a huge time/laundry saver in our house are these Boppy Changing Pad Liners - when people say that you'll get peed and pooped on by your baby they're not kidding/lying - who would have thought?! these changing pad liners help us not have to change our changing pad cover every hour day - they were a last minute buy that I'm SO glad we got! I'm not kidding when I say you NEED these...

now - let's talk about breastfeeding -- here is something that I think people tried to tell me but I just either didn't hear or flatout ignored- breastfeeding is HARD. okay, not hard perse - but challenging at first... let me start by saying we were really fortunate - Penny latched right away and [knock on wood] we have had no issues so far with her getting enough to eat/breastfeeding. however, she is a hungry little bugger and those first two weeks she definitely used and abused me to get what she wanted [mommy = food, all day and all night!]. with that being said, I am so glad I had a medela nipple shield - I won't go into details because you really don't want to know but let me just say this SAVED me - around a week and a half in and Penny was bringing me to tears every time she fed... using a nipple shield saved my sanity and made breastfeeding that much less painful while I "healed" - yup, I'll leave it at that...

we currently have two large trashcans in our nursery - one for cloth diapers [which we LOVE but that's a whole other post] and one for disposable diapers/trash... and believe it or not our nursery does not smell?! AMAZING. I did not want our cloth [or disposable] diapers stinking up the joint and I got these Munchkin Arm and Hammer Nursery Fresheners I dropped two of these in the bottom of each trashcan and I really do believe they're the reason that we're still smelling fresh and clean!

lastly, I'm SO happy we have a video monitor -- Penny has slept in the nursery from day one and our monitor definitely makes it easier to check in on her and to at least give us an idea behind why she's crying [has she gotten out of her swaddle? are her eyes open?] - our monitor [Summer Infant Best View Handheld Color Video Monitor] also lights up (green to red) based on how loud things are in the nursery, I really like this because I can turn the volume off when we're eating dinner/watching TV but can still see if she starts crying and turn the volume up/turn the screen on and see if she's crying/what she's doing - I was back and forth between what monitor I wanted to get and I'm SO glad I got this one! 

so there you have it...

definitely not a comprehensive list of our "favorite things" (I'll post that in a few weeks after we've had more time to play with everything and get a real solid opinion) ...just the things that have made a big difference and that I think have made things that much easier to adjusting to this whole "taking care of a baby thing"

speaking of babies... here are some pictures of our sweet little girl... 

I know, she's pretty darn cute.

I think we'll keep her.

yup.

we're keeping her.