Back to Reality

So maternity leave is finished and I'm back to work. Kind of nice to be on a regular schedule....but not so nice being away from my cute babies. They seem to be surviving just fine without me though....even if Aaron needs a daily starbucks to maintain his sanity.... :)

We spent the 2nd half of May in Virginia....here are a few picture highlights from that trip. For the whole entire album.... go here

Chloe and Auntie Wendy in fine jumping form....

Love this shot.....

Helping Grampie play Settlers....

Grampie and Mateo having a tete-a-tete

Mateo got to meet Great Gram and Gramp Gillis!!

Mateo got lots of snuggles and chats with Auntie Wendy

(Left picture is at the beginning of the trip May 20th....and right picture is June 1st at the end of the trip....can you tell he grew while we were there?!)

My beautiful brown-eyed girl

And my handsome blue-eyed boy!

Fun playdate in Nana's "cooler" with Madison Brist

Wish I looked this good in a bikini!!

Do you think she's a happy Nana?!

We took a trip into the National Zoo....it was hot and humid....but Chloe finally got to see elephants!!

And we took a day trip down to Charlottesville for nostalgia's sake....got to eat at our favorite spots....wander UVA's grounds....and even stopped to see our C'ville Gramma, Anna!

Virginia humidity + my curly-haired girl = MASSIVE curls.... :)

Mr. Man

My two gorgeous boys....do you think Mateo maybe looks like Daddy?

Christina and Matt came up for the weekend so Mateo and Gillis could meet each other.....Gillis was born on 4/25 so he and Mateo are only 10 days apart!! Was nice to get some cousin bonding in!!

Chloe and Phoenix got to play again!!

Gillis Hamilton and Mateo David....2nd cousins...10 days apart.....Gillis was long and skinny compared to Mateo's rolls!!

The soon-to-be Mrs. Long and her adorable nephew

Thankfulness

So I'm rediscovering one of the benefits of breast-feeding that I had sort of forgotten in the 2 years since Chloe weaned herself....other than the health benefits and bonding stuff....those moments of just sitting and being able to ponder stuff....I can't rush around and work on stuff that's been put off. It's time I'm just sitting with nothing to do other than gaze adoringly at my gorgeous baby boy (when I'm at home anyway....nursing in public means he's all covered up).....

And so lately I've been thinking about all the things I'm really thankful for....not that I don't ever think about them at other times....but I've just found myself dwelling on it a lot lately...so here's a short list. I could write a list forever....

1. A husband who loves me unconditionally despite my physical (which are many at 2 months post-partum), emotional, and mental flaws
2. A bubbly daughter who's the sweetest big sister and impresses me daily with her brains and charm
3. A healthy, hearty baby boy who depends on me for love and survival
4. A father for my children---one whose devotion and love melt my heart on a daily basis and who's willing to stay home while I go off to work
5. A natural family (immediate and extended) who will be proud of me no matter what and who love me regardless of physical separation
6. A Rochester "family" who have the same spiritual goals as I do and who care about my well-being
7. A secure, safe home for protection from the elements (even if it isn't my dream house, it's a home)
8. A job that I really enjoy (most days) that pays me well---and I mean more than just a paycheck (I'm going to have to reaffirm this one daily in a few weeks when I return to work)...
9. The privilege to pursue higher education (even if it means more work and stress)

And I'm loving this song right now as an expression of my current life philosophy....

Portraits...

I'm working on sorting through the several hundred pics I took on our recent TWO week trip to VA....

One of the days we went down to Charlottesville and strolled the UVA grounds for nostalgia's sake....we captured some shots of Chloe to use for her 3 year pics....here's a few collages of them together....I think we got some winners... ? :) It helps when your kid is really photogenic. And I've included a collage of Mateo who is growing like a weed and eats ALL the time....can't wait to see what his weight is at his 2 month check this Tuesday. I'm trying not to think about the fact that I return to work in less than 3 weeks....sniff sniff.