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

These Days Are Numbered

My maternity leave is coming to an end next week,

and I find myself feeling very sentimental about 
this wonderful opportunity I got to share with my son.

I am so grateful for it.

 I know it will be good to get back to work,

but I also know it's going to be hard to say goodbye

 to these sweet days with baby Kieran.

Guinney & Kieran getting in some quality time.

He has made me such a happy Mama.

It tickles me so to hold my baby in my arms 
and see him looking up at me with those sweet blue eyes,

and let's be honest, spit up dribbling out of the corners of his mouth.

 (I am getting very used to baby spit up becoming a part of my daily wardrobe.

As you can imagine, it's incredibly glamorous.)

But all kidding aside, 

no matter how much everyone told me that I would love being a mother,

I love it more than I ever could have imagined.
I mean, it's a pretty awesome feeling knowing that sometimes
all he wants in the world is to be in my arms,
and nuzzle into my chest. 

I could melt sometimes.

I am amazed at how fast he is growing,

and am loving all the things that come along with 

him reaching new milestones.

Like actually enjoying tummy time! Yay! 

But some of my very favorite things 

about being Kieran's Mommy 

are things like:

Hearing his enthusiastic squeals when he sees something

that excites him. And his dry laugh when he's getting a 
diaper change from his Daddy who tickles his belly with his beard. 

Or the way he stomps his feet and slaps his hands 
in the water every time he gets a bath, goes in a pool 
or has a trip to the waters edge at the beach.

It's so fun witnessing his fascination for new things,
his serious stare, and focused mind.

He likes giraffes. Obvs.

And I love how he is down to just hang out and chill 

when I decide to take him on little adventures, 

like my first hike with baby last month along

 the Palos Verdes hills overlooking the ocean.

 Not too shabby for your first hike dude! 

It's so cool how sometimes when he is feeding, 

he puts his open hand flush over my heart,

and I can't help but smile in awe of how sweet that is. 

Or like when he is finished with a particularly long feeding,

how his ear is imprinted on my forearm.

I have found myself staring at it, running my fingertips over it,

secretly wishing it could stay there forever.

I love that I get to pick him up when he is tired, 
and giggle at how he tucks his feet under his bottom, 
arches his back, and sticks out his butt.

It's by far the cutest thing ever.

I love that he gives me an open-mouthed scrunched-nosed smile 

when he sees me first thing in the morning.

And I love how his lips curl down when he is sad, 

and it takes everything in me not laugh because it is so darn cute.

But my favorite, favorite moments of being Kieran's Mommy

are the quiet moments, the still moments.

When his warm head tucks perfectly under my chin,
I can feel his fine hair on my cheek,

 I can smell his perfect new baby smell,

and all I want in the world is to stay in that moment forever.

It's those simple flashes of life that permiate love 
into the deepest corners of my heart.

I know I will still get to have these moments

even after I return to work,

but I also know that my going back to work is the end 

of the very beginning. Of having a baby.
 Of being a new mom.

And that will be bittersweet.

Proud Mama!

As hard as it may be,

I'll try to focus less on the bitter,

 and more on the sweet.

XOXO

Aimee 

Oh hi! Kieran's already 3 months!

Hi Friends!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post! 

But as you can imagine, it's hard to find any 
free time with a newborn on my hands!
Free time? What's that?

 I'm also trying my bestest to savor every minute 
with this little guy while I'm out on maternity leave. 
I go back to work August 15th, 
& it's crazy how fast that day is approaching. 
Too fast.

 It's been 3 months since our little bundle entered this world.

It's hard to believe it's been that long, 
and then, in the same breath, 
it's hard to believe it's ONLY been that long.
Life before baby seems like light years ago.
A life without diapers, night time feedings, and carrying a car seat
around everywhere I go seems like a different life.
A different me.

 

I am getting used to my eyes being forever bloodshot.
And no, not for the reason you're thinking.

But one thing is for sure, 
and that is that I love this little guy more than I could ever imagine. 
I'm really embracing my new role as "Mom" 
and baby Kieran is doing so great.
There is no doubt, we have been blessed with a very sweet little guy.
I love how he is smiling & cooing lots these days!
His gurgling noises are the best! They crack me up. 
Oh AND he's growing so fast! 
At his last doctor's visit (2 weeks ago)
he's was a whopping 13 lbs. 5 oz. & 24" long, 
and at this rate, he's probably already a few ounces more.

Whao! Slow down there baby! 

Travis has been back to work for quite some time &
 I've found that I have adjusted quite comfortably 
to taking care of baby on my own for most of the day. 

We're sinking into a routine,
but that'll all change very soon when I go back to work.
Here's to hoping it's a smooth transition.

During the day, baby and I have been going on little adventures.
I use the word "adventures" quite loosely here, 
as anything I do that is new for me and the baby is an adventure.
That can even mean going to the grocery store by ourselves. Ha!
Every trip out without a mishap, 
or a screaming baby at the end of it, 
is a success in my eyes.

Success! 

But all kidding aside, 
we have had some fun baby firsts in these past few months...
Like his first time going to a restaurant!

He was very well behaved during dinner...

...but, as you can see below, he was less into pictures afterwards. Haha.



He had his first dip in a pool!
We celebrated Mother's Day at my sister-in-law's. 
It was a perfect pool day for baby Kieran. 
 Here he is taking it all in. 






5 weeks old.

He had his first time watching his Daddy's softball game with Mommy! 

5 weeks old and all Dodger geared out in his Baby Bjorn!

They won the championship! 
Good luck charm? I think so.

He had his first trip to the bay, a place I spent
 many-a-Summer-day when I was a kiddo.
He got to share this experience with his cousin, Deklynn!

10 weeks old.

Kieran loved putting his feet in the wet sand!

And he loved cuddling with his Grammy in the shade.

We all had such a great time that we
decided to do another baby bay day this week!

Baby Kieran hanging with Uncle Brian. 

Such cool guys. 

And we also had a monumental moment where Kieran 

and Deklynn finally took interest in each other! There were curious gazes,

sweet smiles, and hysterical squeals of excitement! 

Oh my! 

This was great to see, especially since their 

past interactions were more like you see here:

Kieran looks disinterested and Deklynn is like, "Don't touch me." 

We get a kick out of sticking these two cuties together 

when we go out and we get lots of enthusiastic looky lou's.

Here's Travis in a baby sandwich at his birthday breakfast. 

We like to have fun with it. Babies and Irish beer? Why not?

Deklynn representin'.

Grandpops holding Kieran.

Kieran and I have also had lots of fun 

visiting Daddy on his at lunch breaks! 

Kieran's face in this pic cracks me up! 
The cute factor is high.

Father's Day was extra fun with two new dad's in the family.

Father's Day at O'Malley's with the Mc fam. 
I think Dekylnn and Kieran look alike here. :)

And a new Grandpa and Uncle too:

Travis, my Pop-in-law, and brother-in-law, Kevin at Father's Day dinner.

Seeing Travis as a Father is infinitely sweet. 

Kieran's has also experienced his first crawfish boil! 



He'll have to wait 'til he's off his all-momma's-milk diet 
before he can fully partake in the festivities.  
His Uncle Sean will surely show him how it's done.

Even with all of these baby firsts,
as new parents, we've had our firsts too! 

Thanks to having no shortage of babysitting volunteers, 

we've managed to get away for a few date nights! 

We went on a double date to a Dodger game with our buds, Belia & Josh! 

 

 

We go way back! ❤

And we went to Beachwoods BBQ for Travis' birthday dinner with friends!

 It was fun to get a lil' dressed up & 
even a lil' sassy with my leopard heels.  

Righhhht?! 

Oh, & we managed to squeeze in one more Dodger date night! 

They won! Yay! 

In other news, 
my girlfriends since grade school 
are also adding some babies to the bunch. 

Here's us at JoAnna's baby shower last month.

Ali had her baby this past week, baby Eliot, and he is handsome as can be!

JoAnna is also having a boy, Jack, in a few weeks!

It's so exciting to be adding more boys to the wolfpack. 

We have big plans for their Halloween costumes, 

 and well, basically the rest of their lives. 

AND our dear friend Jessica came back
from Israel knocked up! Due in December! 
Talk about baby boom! 

Jess, you can practice with Kieran anytime! 

It's all very exciting indeed.

Long story short,
becoming a mom has been pretty sweet, 
but being able to share this little guy with family 
and friends has been even sweeter.

4th of July.


Cheers friends! 

XOXO
Aimee

P.S.  If you want to see Baby Kieran's newborn photos by Carrie Vines, check 'em out here! She pretty much kicks newborn baby photo ass. ;)