Anniversary Day Date

 How did the year pass so quickly?!

Aaron and I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary on Saturday, May 25.  He was originally supposed to work that day so I was presently surprised when his schedule was changed and he had the day off! We've had such a GREAT first year together. 

Since Aaron had the day off, we decided to drive up to Annapolis and enjoy the day there. 

First stop: a little sushi lunch. 

Aaron seriously didn't know I was taking this picture. He ordered sea urchin. Don't ask me why. I could hardly look at it without gagging. 

Next we stopped at the farmers market for chocolates and fresh wheat bread. 

Our next stop was walking around downtown Annapolis. It's such a cute, charming place. You would love it!

There is just something about water that I love...

Our next stop was a tour of the Naval Academy! Since our first date back in 2011 included a tour of the Air Force academy, it was fun to tour this academy together. 

Here's a pic of the chapel and check out the cadet pictured in white. (Don't tell Aaron that I kind of like the white uniforms!) 

 Big news. Guess who is 1 month old T-O-D-A-Y?? 

I can't stop giving him kisses all-day-long. Here are four cute things that he does that I just love:

1. He giggles out of no where sometimes!

2. When I'm feeding him, he puts up all of his fingers like he's giving someone a high-five. Aaron and I joke that he's thinking - "This is the best. milk. ever."

3. Whenever he sneezes, he always prepares for two sneezes. If he only sneezes once, he releases the built up air like he's singing... "Ahhhhhhhh."

4. He's a pretty good problem solver. Like, when I put him on his stomach for tummy time, instead of getting frustrated, he figured out to lay his head down. When I gave him a bath recently, I had the water a little fuller in the baby bath tub than I usually do. Water was touching his entire back and instead of crying, he decided to arch his back. He just cracks me up. 

Hope you had a happy Memorial Day!

Sweet Baby Boy!

I have so much to share with you! I posted an album on FB so some of these pics will be a repeat, but I wanted to tell you all about Eli - he's my new best friend and I sure love spending every second of every day with him. In fact, most of the time when he's sleeping, I just stare at him and wish he was awake so we could play together! Aaron's admitted that he's a little jealous we get to hang out all day. Good news! Aaron has off for the next 4 days (after working 8 days in a row with no break) so our little family gets to hang out all weekend. :) 

Anyway, here's a quick recap of everything - 

My mom came out 5 days after my due date and there was still no baby. I ended up being induced on Sunday, April 28. Turns out the induction worked fine and by Monday evening, I was dilated to a 10 and ready to push. Well, after pushing for 2.5 hours and the baby not making much change, we all decided a c-section was the best option. I sure was exhausted and didn't know if I could physically keep going. Aaron was a great coach, and I was grateful my mom was in the room and was able to tell me that I wasn't being "weak." She watched Angela push and she kept telling me, "It shouldn't be this hard!!" (Did you know my mom had c-sections with all of us? She totally understood the recovery and helped me through it!) 

Today as I write this I'm feeling so great. I definitely couldn't believe how painful it was recovering from pretty much 2 births - a c-section and a vaginal birth... we're just extra grateful our baby arrived healthy and happy. Thank goodness for modern medicine that allows such things as c-sections. 

The kid weighed 9 lbs 7 oz! The first thing the Dr. said was that he looks like a 3 month old. Hahaha.. he definitely looks half grown, but because of being a bigger baby, he sleeps like a champ! (Does it sound like I'm bragging if I say he already sleeps likes 6.5 hrs a night, I feed him, change his diaper and then he goes back to sleep for 3 more hours?!) 

We had lots of visitors at the hospital. With Aaron being in the Air Force, I don't know how often we'll be lucky enough to have both of our parents visit when we have a new baby so this time was extra special for us. 

I had to capture Aaron's first-ever-diaper-change-of-his-life. Now he's pretty much a pro and has already changed more diapers then he can count. 

Eli's going home outfit: 

We arrived home from the hospital on Thursday, May 2 just in time for my family to fly in and meet the newest family member! 

With my family visiting and Aaron's family living close, we decided to bless baby Eli on May 5. He looks pretty classy in a bow-tie. 

It was such a special time to bless our baby with all our family! 

Of course I cried when everyone had to leave. My family was extremely helpful while they were here... even little Khloe helped clean the bathroom before they left. 

Aaron had 10 days of paternity leave before he had to go back to work. Everything is better with dad around - like going to the Dr. 

...and bath time. 

Like I was saying, Eli has become my new best friend! We enjoy dance parties, going on walks, swinging in the hammocks and photo shoots. 

Aaron and I love admiring our little baby and the second night in the hospital we both just cried and cried as we cuddled our sweet new baby. What a miracle birth truly is and we're sure grateful we can be with our family forever. XO XO

Extra Special Mother's Day!

Guess why Mother's Day was extra special at our house this year?

Because baby Eli is here!!

We love him lots and we're so happy he's here safely. 

He's already two weeks old today! 

Aaron and I are sooo grateful for our mothers and all they have done and continue to do for us. With Aaron being in the military, we're not sure how often we'll be able to celebrate a new baby with both of our mothers   visiting the hospital so we soaked up EVERY. SECOND. together with our families. 

I have lots more pics to post and I can't wait to tell all about our new baby, but for now, here's our newest family photo:

Sending love to you from the three of us!