Back to Work

Monday will be my first day back to work from maternity leave. I agreed to go back over a month ahead of schedule. I made this decision for a few reasons: 1) My (new) boss had already started contacting me frequently to help respond to some issues they apparently felt they waited long enough to resolve; 2) It was a strategic decision to negotiate working from home (otherwise I will need the additional time to arrange for childcare); and 3) Because Alex hasn't found a job yet, I am still the sole breadwinner of the family and the bread is running out.

Needless to say, I have mixed feelings about the situation. One the one hand, I'm excited to go back and hit the floor running in my new (management!) role. But I also know that I'm going to miss having so much time to spend with Ava. We've developed somewhat of a morning routine, our new little family, and it has become my favorite time of the day.

Ava's been so great about consistently sleeping through the night since before she was eight weeks old, and when she wakes up in the morning, she doesn't cry, but sometimes coos a little to let us know she's up and then as soon as she sees my face she gives me the happiest smile like I've just made her the luckiest girl in the world. (The feeling I get from this is indescribable; I think it's one of those things you just have to be a mother to experience.) Then after I feed her the three of us hang out, sing, dance, and play in bed until we're hungry enough to get out of bed and start the day.

I know we can still have these moments while I'm working, for a few minutes before I have to start my workday and on weekends, but I know it won't be with the same carefree, dedicated focus. My attention will be diverted. Life will move at a faster pace. So for these last few days, I'm going to savor every minute of bonding with my baby.

Ava's First Easter

Valerie got Ava the cutest bunny hat and outfit to wear for Easter.

Excited for the Easter parties.

"Eh... What's up doc?"

I had some cute scrapbook paper on hand that I thought would be great for Easter, and since our house is currently under construction and not worthy of such decoration, I decided to help decorate my parents' house for their Easter party with a pennant banner and coordinating cupcake toppers and a "Happy Easter" banner.

We set up a candy buffet rather than fill baskets with candy as we've always done; my mom filled the baskets with other small gifts for each of us instead.

Ava's little cottontail says it all.

This was a nice Easter and all, and our parents did a lovely job making it festive and fun, but maybe by next year we'll finally be done remodeling and I'll host the Easter party and it will look something like this, and I will make these cool egg ornaments and hang them from branches to make an Easter Egg Tree like this, and I'll serve a champagne brunch like this and cake pops in these amazing tulip cupcake liners.

The Pre-Planning Party

Tiffany shared this tradition with me that her fiance's grandmother has insisted on for as long as anyone in the family can remember. Before any big family event, she invites all the ladies together to help plan the party. This way one person is not doing all the work, everyone else gets to contribute their ideas and get involved, and it also becomes an excuse to get your closest family members and friends together for a fun event in itself.

Since Tiffany has several close friends who all wanted to contribute to her shower, we decided to carry on this tradition and get together and collaborate prior to the big event.

Here are a few of the ideas I found on the blogosphere that I brought with me to share with the rest of the party-planning committee:

If I can scrounge up enough mason jars, I will definitely be making something similar to this.

LOVE the mini pies and the vintage cowboy books found here.

This is the coolest tablecloth! Not sure I'll be able to find something similar, but I'll keep a lookout. Mason jars also make great vases and can be varying sizes.

I'm loving all the different variations of the pennant banners out there, so this is for sure on my party prep to-do list.

I also offered to make the invitations and had the perfect one in mind for the new little cowboy on the way:

We sipped on mimosas and had a great spread of cheese, grapes, salami, fruit salad, kalamata olives, and pesto pasta salad to keep us well-fueled throughout the day.

I'm definitely going to make pre-planning parties my own new tradition.

Ava's First Date

My dad insisted that I "have to take her out of the house sooner or later" so he took us all out to lunch today for Ava's very first lunch date with Gramps.

Check out these hot suede ankle boots I ordered online while nursing at some random hour of the night. They kind of make my legs look good even though I still have about 10 extra pounds of pregnancy weight to lose.

A waiter spilled sauce from a scorching plate onto the car seat/stroller. Thankfully Ava was not in it or there would have been a fierce confrontation, but the restaurant manager still heard it from Alex, the ever-protective new father.

Family Bath Time Fun

We finally finished installing our new bath tub last week we've already enjoyed a few baths. Ava's really starting to love the water (and playing with the bubbles).

I can't wait to post more pictures of the finished bathroom once I finish decorating!

Katie's Mad Hatter Baby Shower

Katie and I have been best friends since we were five and six years old, respectively. She's like family to me. She knows I would do anything for her. And hosting her baby shower just four weeks after giving birth myself is one of those things that I wouldn't hesitate to do for her; actually, if given the chance to do it again, I would jump at it.

Inspired by this shower, I wanted the party to look sophisticated and not like a little girl's birthday party.

I have a very long dining room where we put several tables together set with mismatched antique tea cups and saucers to give it an eclectic Mad Hatter vibe. We also filled several mismatched tea pots with red-tipped roses (for a "painting the roses red" look) and scattered playing cards around on the tabletops.
We used a fancy chess set as a serving tray where we put decanters with "Shrink" and "Grow" tags attached with ribbon to look like the potions Alice drank before entering Wonderland. I tied ribbon around wine glasses with "Drink Me" tags. Megan created the most elegant tea menu with sweet and savory scones, tea sandwiches, shortbread, mini cupcakes (with "Eat Me" tags), and lots more mouth-watering delectables. We created a candy buffet using the same apothecary jars and candy bags we had for my family shower and we also had purple and pink swirl lollipops which reminded me of the Cheshire cat. Katie's aunt made name tags for everyone out of playing cards with their names spelled backwards ("contrariwise").

My sister with Ava. You can faintly see part of the table spread in the background. I wish I took more pictures!

I can't wait to welcome Ava's BFF Violet into the world.

Meet Ava Elise, Our Favorite Valentine

Mommy's first words to Ava: "Are you ready for this life?"

Ava Elise was born on February 12!

Ava, we can't believe your ours to keep. What did we do to deserve such a perfect little angel? You've already brought me more happiness than I thought my heart could hold.