Daddy Daughter Weekend

While I was off in Chicago, Stella and Mike had a great time on their own.

Stella attended a birthday party at Gymboree, for her friend Tyler. He was turning 1.

Chicago with the Girls

Last weekend, I left Stella for the first time.  My girlfriends from McCann (my old company in SLC/Seattle) do a girls trip every year and this year we decided to head to Chicago to visit Katerina.  I was so sad to leave Stella.  I felt like a was leaving a huge piece of me behind, but at least she would be home with Mike and I knew she'd be just fine.  I cried when she and Mike dropped me off and I cried when my plane was taking off, I wanted so badly to run up and yell "Stop the plane!!"  When I first left her, I kept feeling like I was forgetting something.  You don't realize how much your baby rules your life until you leave them.  I even stood at the jetway, waiting for her carseat and stroller when I got off the plane.  And as I was walking to the cab, I couldn't help but think that I was forgetting something or missing something. Once I met up with the girls, I was able to enjoy the trip and relax.  We had a great time, eating at great restaurants, seeing live music, going to watch a comedy show at second city and shopping.

Shopping - my friend Kara is really into biking, so we had to make a stop at this fabulous bike store, Dutch Bike Co.  We actually ran into "Dottie"(she's on the left) from Let's Go Ride a Bike (a blog that Kara is obsessed with). So random!

Second City

An incredible comedy club where so many got their start, including: Tina Fey, Mike Meyers, Bill Murray...etc.

Sunday Brunch at Orange

yummy!

Always thinking of her...

 

More eating...

Shopping

 

Easter Sunday

What a beautiful day it was for Stella's first Easter.  The sun was out, the temperature was in the mid 70's and there was not a cloud in the sky.  We celebrated by eating breakfast, diving into our Easter baskets, opening a package from Grandma and Grandpa Baltz, dying eggs, and enjoying dinner at our friends house in the city.

Stella was a big fan of her Easter basket, specifically the bubbles and her very own set of golf clubs.

Even with Easter baskets out for her to see, her first stop on Easter morning was to her drawer full of tupperware for some morning play time.

The Easter Bunny made it!

Dinner at Mike and Lauren's (Our old neighbors in the city)

 

Easter photos

Grandma Sheridan's Visit

We are so lucky that with Grandma's new job as a teacher, she gets time off for Spring Break and was able to come out for a quick visit.  There's nothing that reminds you more of how much you miss family until you have family close by.  We enjoyed having Mike's mom in our home so much and she and Stella were inseparable.  (With the exception of the fact that Stella decided to go through her mommy's girl phase during the week grandma was visiting!)

We had a great time hanging out at home, walking to the park, making meals, visiting Amish country and going to Stella's 9 month check up together.

Thanks for coming to visit us Sheridan, it means so much to us!

Stella is 3/4 of a year

Now that Stella is 9 months old, she is able to clap, wave, stand holding on to furniture (even 1 handed).  Her crawl speed has increased exponentially.  She also likes to babble "Mamamama" and "Dadadada", we like to pretend she knows that she's identifying us.

This month, she got a taste of the zoo for the first time and of course, her first trip to Disney.  She really loves Mickey Mouse.  It's the only TV show that we turn on and she immediately starts watching.  She loves the music too.  We bought her a Minnie Mouse stuffed animal at Disney World and she sleeps with it every night - so cute!

Make your own digital photobook

The National Zoo for Haydin's Birthday

This weekend we again made the trek down to DC.  This time it was for our other niece's birthday, Haydin, turning the big 2.  She had a monkey themed party with delicious monkey cupcakes (made by her amazing baker mom, Kari) and we got to go to the zoo to see the real monkeys.  The weather was gorgeous and the animals were fun to see.  Although, the giraffes and hippos are no longer there, we got to see pandas, elephants, chimps, gorillas, lions, tigers and much more.  Hannah and Haydin didn't get too into the animals, all they cared about were treats (you'll see in the pics).  Especially Haydin, there is nothing she loves more than M&M's and how can you deny her on her birthday?

Stella's first time entering a zoo.

The girls already found ice cream machines at the entrance...

Panda

Stella and Mike watching the elephants, those seemed to be her favorite.  I guess they were the easiest to focus on:)

 

Birthday Girl. She seriously loves M&M's.

Stella and mommy with the Orangutan.

 

Tiger!

 

Snuggling after a long day.

It's Spring here in Philly!

Since our return from Florida, Stella and I have been enjoying the park behind our house every single day.  It's been so nice, and we are loving the time change.  When Mike gets home, we can hang out outside, take the dog for a walk...etc.  And given that we live so close to Mike's work, on Friday he came and met us at the park for lunch.  Now that the weather is warming up, I'm loving the location we chose for our home.  5 min walk to Mike's office, 2 min walk to the park and 1 min walk to the grocery store.