Getting Out

So, even though I'm back to work,
(and getting sweet lunch visits from my baby 
thanks to his Grammy & Grampy) . . .

Travis and I have had some fun times
 getting out and about in between
 our normal day-in-day-out to-dos.

We've had fun pool days...

Park days...

Baby's first time to the El Dorado Nature Center! 


Picnic days...

Visiting Daddy on his lunch break! 

Double date nights...

My brother Brian and our babes at Simmzy's on 2nd! 

Our little family.

Brian's little family. 


Not to mention we've attended weddings galore!
Well, two anyway.

My brother Sean and his lady Sierra got married!

Photo cred to Oliver Barth! 

Haha. I love this pic so much!

Here's the whole fam bam post-nuptials.
The venue was gorgeous! 

Kieran wore this:

It' s hard to see it here, but he was wearing his 
blue converse high tops! :) 

Here's some awesome photobooth shots from the night:

The bride and groom!

Me & the hubs (and little Sean!)

 My sister, MB, & her hubby, Mike, with our little guy!

My Mom and her sister having a blast! 

When these two get together, giggles ensue. 

And here's us at Trav's cousin Krissi's wedding...


I love an occassion to get the babe dressed up!
Check out his adorable Tiny TOMS! 


More photobooth fun!
Baby K is looking oh so cool in those shades! Ha!

In addition to wedding celebrations,
we took baby to his first Dodger game!

Which is kind of a big deal in this household.
I mean, he had been to a couple when he was in my belly.
Like here:

But this time he was actually able to SEE the game!

& he had so much fun! Even caught a ball!

Well, kinda. Daddy helped! 

It was an exciting moment,
 I think especially for his Daddy.
There is something so special about 
a man taking his son to a baseball game.
Especially since it has been such an important
part of Travis' life, being a baseball player himself,
and having that connection with his own father.

Travis, 7 years old-ish.

I also celebrated my birthday last month!

It seems like just yesterday that

 I was turning 30 & was writing this post. 

 I blinked & now I'm 32! Oh man! Time flies! 

I had multiple celebrations with family, work folks,
and a nice night out with my best girlfriends.

Ali, Belia and I drinking Moscow Mules 

at James Republic in Downtown Long Beach.

Kim & Amber were into it too. 

There is never any shortage of laughter
 when I am with these girls.
I am so lucky to have them as my steadfast buddies.
My birthday was just an excuse to get together
and have some good food, tasty drinks and a lot of fun. 

And whao!

Look at this huge birthday burger! 

It's not really called a birthday burger,

I just ate it on my birthday. :)

OH! Travis got me this lovely oval onyx ring I 
was eyeing from my favorite store on 2nd Street.

If you know me, you know
 I love me some accessories! 
As you can see, I was stoked!

It was fun celebrating with my lil' family. . .

. . . and big family too!
(Sorry, I didn't get a good group shot!) :( 

Travis and I also celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary.
5 years already?!

Sept. 25th, 2008.

And because September is jam packed 
with reasons to celebrate, we decided to commemorate 
it all with our very first family vacation! 

I know what you are thinking.

I just got back to work and I'm already taking a vacation??

Yes, I am.

WE are. 

Correction: WE did. :)

And it was awesome.

We went to Cambria. 
DUH! 

(We are so predictable.)

As this was Kieran's first road trip, 
we wondered how he would handle a long car ride.
Turns out, like a champ!
We road the whole 4.5 hour ride up without 
as much as a peep from him in the backseat.
(Angel baby!)

We had tons of fun wine tasting in Paso Robles.

We loved Michella Winery's down-home feel.

They even had a sack toss & swing out among the grapevines.

Daou Winery has by far the best views of all of Paso.

Baby wearing and wine tasting pro at Eberly Winery! 

Kieran is looking so mature in this picture, 

but I can't pinpoint why! ;-)

This is one of my favorite pics from the trip.

This 5 month old puppy, Ginger, was nibbling on my 5 month

 old baby's fingers. Kieran thought it was hilarious.

Love that giggle. AND that smile! 

Aside from wine tasting, 
we also enjoyed the coastal scenery.

We took some nice runs in the crisp morning air,

and took sunset strolls along the bluffs of Moonstone Beach.

This pic makes me feel so in love 
with this man all over again.
We're so happy here.

This trip was particularly sweet for us. 
We had so much fun taking Kieran 

to places we have enjoyed as a couple, 

that it made it that much sweeter to share it with baby.

It was such a blast, and we are really looking 
forward to so many more trips with our little family.

We decided to purchase a little something

 for Kieran to commemorate his first trip.

He has this fascination for plates lately, so when 
we saw this small plate in one of our favorite shops
on Main Street, we knew it was the perfect keepsake.

It's kinda hard to see here, 

but it has a little whale on it

and says, "You are so loved."

And, well, he is!!

 

I think he likes it! 
He's putting everything in his mouth these days. :) 

Cheers to settling in AND getting out friends!


XOXO
Aimee

Settling In

Oh here I am! I've made it! 
(I am currently patting myself on the back.)
I've been thinking about you,
REALLY!
It's just been a little hectic 'round these parts.
Juggling work, baby, having some sort of social life, 
 squeezing in some exercise time, 
AND trying to keep up on blogging is not so easy!
But I shall try harder! 
Promise!

I've been back to work for two months now,

and I'm actually settling in to the new routine quite nicely.
Fancy that! 

I mean, I miss my days with baby,
don't get me wrong, but it's been 
good to have some adult time

and get back into the groove of things.
AND even get to dress in something 
other than jeans and tank tops for a change. 
Oh yay! 

This is what I wore on my first day back to work. 
Ladies Room Fashion Show!

 I feel good in red shoes & chevrons.
Who doesn't? 

OH! 

And I've definitely missed the espresso 

machine at work while I was out on leave. 

Generally, I'm not a big coffee drinker.

I don't even have a coffee maker at home!

(What?! Yep, it's true!)

BUT there is nothing like a freshly brewed latte 

 in the early morning hours of a work day. 

The office is still quiet, and I am able 
to leisurely sip away while I catch up on emails.

YUM! 

I am certain that my transition back to work 

has been so easy breezy because of Kieran's care 

while I'm away. It's a great relief that while I am at work,

 my sweet boy is with his Grandma Toni and Grandpa Ty. 

We couldn't have asked for anything better.

Kieran LOVES them so much!

And bonus for me, Grandma sends me 

LOTS of pics and videos of baby when I'm at work. 

So I've been able to enjoy his cute smiles and giggles virtually.

Score! 

This was them at the park yesterday:

Um, hi cute baby!

Auntie Tami came out to play too!

Baby Kieran is so very blessed to have LOTS  
of family closeby that love him to pieces! 

I admit, fun days like the park day he 
had yesterday make me homesick for my baby, 
but it is so nice that he is spending
some quality time with family.

And it's the best feeling in the world when I see him after work.

He sees me, smiles, bounces up and down 

and gives me the cutest squeals of excitement! 

I think that makes it all worth it. 

He is one happy baby! 
(& that makes me one happy Mama!)

I'm lucky enough to be home on Thursdays and Fridays,
so I am still getting in some awesome baby time. :) 
Sweet! 


The way he looks at me never gets old.

And we get to do fun things like
play Cowboys and Indians! 

Bang! Bang! 

All the good stuff aside,
I'm not gonna lie, I'm exhausted! 
The one-two combo of going going going
when I get home from work and then the lack of sleep thereafter,
well, it starting to wear on me a bit.
I'm waking up EARLY in the morning
to get baby and get myself ready for work.
Like 5:30 early.
(Sad face!)

But as exhausted as I am,
I am somehow starting to get used to this not-sleeping-so-much thing.

Pretty soon I'll be a pro at it.
Sleeping is overrated.
(Said no one ever!)

We had the honor of babysitting 

our niece Deklynn last month on a night after work.

It was so fun to have the two babes together.

Look at me double-hippin' it!

It was a blast! 

But we also acknowledged how challenging it was 

to prep dinner and do the normal evening things

with two babies to care for. We laughed at the idea of twins.

Bless the hearts of parents to twins! 

(Twins run on Travis' side of the family. Ahhh!)

OH! 
And guess what!
Baby got his first tooth yesterday! 

It's official, he is growing entirely too fast!
Already 6 months! 

Anyway, just wanted to check in!
Next up in the blog queue,
Getting Out! 

Happy Tuesday friends!

XOXO
Aimee