our first christmas

ellie wasn't the only one to have a first christmas...this was actually the first christmas day sean and i had spent as our own little family since we got married...and it was awesome! we had brunch and bubbles, went for a lovely walk in prospect park, i made 4-hr slow roasted lamb for dinner with traditional english mince pies and christmas pudding for desert and we watched (or i forced sean to watch) lots of soppy christmas movies throughout the day. i'm so excited for all the christmases to come as ellie starts to understand what's going on. i loved starting our own christmas traditions this year and i'm looking forward to carrying them on in the years to come!

the giggle

in the past week, ellie has started giggling and it's amazing! it's crazy how each little step in her development can have such a big impact on us, making us so incredibly happy that i actually had tears in my eyes the first time she giggled. i can't wait to see what she'll be doing next!

three months

ten weeks (and smiling!)

eleven weeks

twelve weeks

three months old!

it's christmas!

i thought that we made a big deal out of christmas back home in the uk, but only when i moved to the u.s. did i realise what a "big deal" really meant...and i love it! seeing all the stoops and front yards decked out in lights, inflatable santas and goodness knows what else and being guaranteed snow every year (although often way too much for my liking!) is amazing. i got my first real christmas tree the first year that we moved here and haven't looked back :)

moving house

it's official...moving house with a two month old is the opposite of fun. 

but we did it and it didn't actually turn out to be as bad as i thought it would (not that i would ever want to do it again!). and now that we're moved and sort of unpacked, it's amazing to have ellie and her "stuff" in her own room...especially as she miraculously just started sleeping 12 hours straight! oh, sleep, how i've missed you and LOVE having you back in my life! now maybe we can get to stocking the fridge with some actual food!

ruffle butts and twinkle toes

two of my favourite things at the moment...

two months

five weeks

six weeks

seven weeks (that little smile melts my heart)

two months old!

visitors

one of the hardest things about having a baby when living abroad is not being able to share her with my family and friends. luckily, i have awesome friends who come to visit us, plus there's always skype :)

i love sundays

because we get to hang out together on the sofa all day (especially when there's a hurricane on the way!)

reese & ellie

when we were looking to adopt a dog, it was important for us that the dog would be ok with kids. we couldn't have asked for more with reese. he's taken the arrival of ellie all in his stride and even checks in on her when she's fussing in her sleep. he's been showing her the ropes with tummy time as well...

one month

one week

two weeks

three weeks (look at those cheeks!)

one month old!

birthday

i'd been worried that i was going to spend my birthday this year in labour, which didn't sound like fun to me! instead, i got to spend it with my newly expanded family and it couldn't have been better.

life's surprises

i love surprises and the last few weeks have been full of them! it all kicked off with my doctor making the surprise decision to induce me straight away following a scheduled scan...and the next day eleanor mary dugan arrived in our lives. she surprised me by being a girl when i'd been convinced we were having a boy. she also surprised us all by being a teeny 4lbs 6ozs, which meant that she had to spend some time in the nicu before she could come home with us. but the best surprise of all was discovering how much i already love her. and how much my heart swells when i see sean holding and taking care of her. i didn't think it possible to love anything so much, or to love my husband even more than i did before...but i guess that's just one of life's amazing surprises :)

getting ready...slowly

we've had some baby stuff piled up and staring at us for a while, but now that there's less than 4 weeks to go until my due date, i figured that we should start getting ready for our new arrival. i thought that it would be a bit scary, but it's actually made me more excited to finally meet the little one!

this weekend we were mostly...

celebrating our 4 year anniversary!

the lovely people at chipshop gave us penguins as a treat (i was very excited)

we went to seasonal where the food and service were excellent, as was the virgin cocktail :)

a little shower

my lovely sister-in-law threw me a lovely baby shower this weekend. they're not so popular back home, but i think they're a brilliant idea, especially when you're starting with nothing! i love the cute favours and message that went with them - so perfect for a Brit - and they were even labelled as "jam" and not "jelly". we got so much great and much needed stuff from very generous family and friends and yet still seem to have so much more that we need. plus, i have no idea where to put it all in our tiny apartment...right now it's just piled up in a corner of the living room serving as a very real reminder that our lives are going to change dramatically very soon! to be honest, i'm actually looking forward to trying out all the stuff with the baby. i feel like i have a new bunch of toys, but no one to play with! luckily i don't have that much longer to wait..!

this weekend we were mostly...

 

 

 hanging out by the pool at the shore

celebrating the start of the olympics with some traditional british victoria sponge

kicking off our anniversary celebrations with a (little) glass of champagne

this weekend we were mostly...

drinking (virgin for me) bloody marys

making "breakfast pizza"

enjoying NYC restaurant week

all while being bankrolled by reese :)