why does it have to end?

I cannot believe that summer break is almost over. Thankfully I don't work for LAUSD- they went back to school this week.  Technically I still have 2 weeks of vacation but I have to go back next week to get my new classroom set up. I am so sad to have my time with the little one ending. I love teaching and I don't think I could ever be a stay-at-home mom, but I wish I had a few more months to be home with Olivia. I guess the Thanksgiving break countdown will start a bit earlier than usual this year...

Our summer in review:
lots of snuggling, lunching, shopping, going to museums, food trucking, traveling, and lots and lots of growing

snuggling with daddy

at lacma

lunch date with uncle lele

aunt inger came to visit

lounging

mimi came to visit and we went shopping

napping in sun tent in palm springs

bbq lunch date with daddy

enjoying the view on our walk

another palm springs trip

truck norris=amazing short rib tacos

nana time in wisconsin

off to florida

Our summer was pretty fantastic! How was yours?

my sweet olivia

I'm super lucky to have a cousin who is also a photographer. The other day she came by for a visit and took these gems (and many more) of my sweet baby girl.

Amazing, right? I'm super duper excited to see the others.

more lunching...

Olivia and I were lucky enough to be able to sneak in a little lunch with Dennis yesterday. We went to Chalet Edelweiss, a little Swiss restaurant that's near us. Dennis got wiener schnitzel and I got a bratwurst sandwich. Everything was so super delish!

even the iced tea is good

bratwurst sandwich with sweet potato fries

hahaha, i'm such a mean wife

my sweet baby just hung out the whole time 

I love our little lunch dates! Happy weekend everyone!

Palm Springs Getaway

A few weeks ago we went to Palm Springs for a little weekend getaway. I had read about The Saguaro on this fabulous blog awhile ago and was dying to go. So, when groupon had a deal I was all over it.

We spent most of the weekend laying around and talking about how adorable Olivia is. (This seems to be what we do most of the time these days.) We got in a little shopping, some hanging out by the pool and lots of eating.

the pool. don't you love all the colors?

naptime at the pool

ruffles and polka dots

all spified up for dinner time

tapas dinner from tinto was delish

dorks

more pool time in an itsy bitsy teeny weenie yellow polka dot bikini

i went sunglasses shopping 

If you're looking for a fun (and affordable) hotel in Palm Springs I would definitely check out The Saguaro.  We loved it!

Lunch Datin'

One of my favorite summertime activities is going out to lunch with friends. Last week I went on a lunch and Target date with this friend. (You can read about it here.) Today I went to lunch with Annette and her ridiculously cute son Christopher. Christopher was so cute and well behaved. He kept waving at Olivia and saying "Hi Olivia." Then he did some awesome dribbling and shooting of an invisible basketball.

Day 3: Best Part of My Day

Christopher rocking my shades

Olivia passed out on my arm

I have another lunch date with some girlfriends on Thursday. Yay for summer!

Happy July

Day 1: Self Portrait

Self portrait with baby

It's not really a self-portrait, but it was the only picture of myself that made me smile. This picture was taken the day after Olivia was born. All I can really remember from then was being totally amazed that Dennis and I had created this adorable little being. Oh, and that I was exhausted and sore. It's been 3 months since that day and I cannot imagine a life without my little munchkin now. Happy 3rd Month Olivia! 

By the way, find July's photo-a-day list here. 

Happy July, y'all! 

Alison+Shopping=BFF

Day 26: where you shop

The bounty from Tuesday's shopping excursion

It's become abundantly clear recently that I have a bit of a shopping problem. I love to shop. I love to spend money. I love stuff. I'm not picky about what I'm shopping for either. I like shopping for groceries, clothes, home goods, books, gifts... I like going to stores and I like online shopping. My daughter has more clothes than she can possibly wear (but I will make every effort to have her wear everything). She already has 3 bathing suits. She's not quite 3 months old and has 3 bathing suits. Is that normal? I have no idea where this crazy shopping habit came from but I'm pretty sure it's here to stay!

Well hello again

Wow... so much for doing photo-a-day! I have a few I never got around to posting. I'll try it again in July.

Day 24: on my mind

So many things come to mind when I see this picture: Am I ever going to lose the baby weight? Isn't the little one ridiculously cute? Am I totally damaging my kid's development by letting her look at computer screens (or TV screens)? Is it really true that exposure to screens (TV, computer, or others) cause kids to have ADHD?  How awesome is my new JCrew hoodie? What were we looking at? Should I start running? Can I take the baby to the kid's club at the gym? Is the kid's club better at my gym or D's gym?

My mind is constantly going and these days it's getting harder and harder to shut it off. My thoughts have just moved from being all about me and Dennis to being all about Olivia with a sprinkling of me and Dennis. I don't even want to admit the 10 million thoughts and questions that sentence just brought up! How do moms with more than one kid ever sleep?

Day 6

Day 6: hat

I am a huge dork and I love Paul Frank stuff. It was a super crazy happy day when I saw that Target was going to carry a Paul Frank line. I found this hat on sale in the kids section at Target. I love it!

Off to get more end of the year schoolwork done...

signs, signs, everywhere signs

(Please excuse the cheesy title) 

Day 5: signs

I had thought I would share pictures of "signs" I have in our bedroom that I love... but instead I had to share this picture:

cheap chardonnay in a mini-box... yum!

I'll share the other signs later, but for now I'm wondering: Is taking a picture with a mini-box a wine a sign that one might drink too much? Or maybe just that one has has a crazy couple days and needs to relax? I'm going to go with the latter, but ask me again after I'm done nursing (so in like a year from now...) and the answer might change.

It's almost hump day which means we're that much closer to the weekend. Yippee!

Are you THAT person? I am

Day 4: close-up

taken by auntie libby 

I can't resist pictures of this little munchkin. I obsessively take pictures of her and then look at them over and over. Then, I send them to others, like 10 times a day. Instagram has become my new favorite app.  I'm afraid I'm becoming that person- you know, the one who is constantly pulling out pictures of her kid and forcing people to look and say how cute the kid is. But, my kid really is sooo cute, don't you think?

Here's a couple more of my favorites, since- let's face it- I am that person!

Gahhhhhhhhh! Isn't she adorable?

Sunday Funday

Day 3: on your plate

snuggle time

Today is the last day of my maternity leave so I'm spending the day snuggling with the muchkin. I cannot believe how fast the time went by. My baby's 2 months already! I am so bummed to have to leave Olivia but glad to see my students again and finish the school year. The next couple weeks are going to be super busy- I go back to work, my wonderful mother-in-law comes to visit, baby showers, friends in town... but then it's summer break and I can relax again.

Empties

Day 2: empty 

baby, mama and papa's empty drinks

It used to be adult beverages but now it's "Mother's Milk" tea and water for us. 

Happy Saturday y'all!

Heidely-ho, neighbor!

So, after being a total blogstalker I finally broke down and created my own. Of course I now have to figure out what to blog about. While I'm coming up with ideas I'm going to be participating in a photo-a-day challenge since one thing I can do is take iPhone pictures! I'm going to follow the ideas I found here and here. Since I can't decide which list I like best I'm going to pick and choose from both. Who knows, maybe I'll even combine the two... 

Day 1: morning

isn't she just the sweetest thing ever?!?