Happy (First) Halloween!

Our little strawb-ELLY is adorable. I'm thankful I was able to find inspiration and materials in order to create a costume for Elayne that isn't a pumpkin. Because, after all, unless your baby is 6 months or older, the only costumes available are pumpkins. And that just wouldn't do.

Weekend Getaway

This weekend is going to be a much needed girls weekend with my sisters and mom. We are getting out of our houses and heading to the hill country for a wine tour! Samantha put it together and we are too excited. We need this - all of us. We need to conversation, the relaxation, the experience together. What a great way to kick off the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season!

Friday, Heather, my mom, and I head down to Austin to meet Samantha. Once we check into our hotel for the weekend, we will head to one of my favorite places in Austin - Sagra - for happy hour. They have half priced pizzas and discounted quartinos of wine. A relaxing evening on the porch, weather permitting, sounds pretty nice to me.

Saturday we hop on a tour bus with other wine tourers to ride to the Fredericksburg area. We will tour three wineries and do a bit of tasting. We will also get a yummy meal included. Once back to Austin, we'll relax some more. Then, you guessed it, we'll be heading back Sunday afternoon.

Sounds relaxing, doesn't it? Sounds like we need this, right? Sounds like I will miss my baby while I'm gone too, no?

Two Months Old!

Height: 22 inches

Weight: 9 pounds, 3 ounces

Her favorite movie is "The Emperor's New Groove" because of all the bright colors.

She has really started smiling and "talking" in the past week.

Outgrowing some of her newborn clothes now and will soon "catch up" to the average sizes for her age.

So far, she has slept through the night twice.

Starting to recognize people - especially Phillip and me.

8 Weeks Old!

Our not-so chunky monkey is already 8 weeks old - 2 months next week. Time sure has flown and it isn't stopping. Every day her little personality shows through more and more.

I absolutely love her and love life with her.

This weekend we're heading to the pumpkin patch! I will definitely show you pictures soon.

Week in Review

Well this has been a busy week!

I had a great weekend but have been playing catch up every since.

Instead of a lengthy boring post, I/l use pictures to tell you about my week.

My beautiful fire pit and deck! Phillip and Michael worked all day Saturday and got it finished just as the rain came in. It is level, sturdy, and beautiful. We are certainly going to use it a whole lot and I can't wait.

Inaugural fire with glass of [fre] wine.

New hair cut! Do you love it??? Because I do!

Allergies have hit the little Longs like nobody's business. We've all be battling the sniffles, sore throats, and congestion. Little Elayne, though she can't talk and isn't running a fever, is definitely suffering too. So much sneezing and mucus! Poor thing.

I pulled a [near] all-nighter Monday night. My professor mixed up due dates on the syllabus and the assignment was trickier than I thought. So it was a late one to get a first draft in, but I think I did pretty well.

Did I mention allergies? And did I mention that now being a mom means you don't get to lay in bed on a sick day? I had to settle for slippers, the couch, and baby cuddles - not bad come to think of it.

My china cabinet is finally here and set up. I think it looks fantastic and I'm so happy to finally have all of my stuff protected from dust.

More research reading and paper writing Tuesday and yesterday. I've gotta keep that 4.0 strong and steady. ;) This also sums up my life this week - school work and baby work.

Even though she didn't show it very well, I think Elayne loved my finger puppet show I gave her.

Kickstarting mission baby weightloss with make ahead salads and a new exercise ball. Walking was also supposed to start this week but seeing as I haven't even had time to sleep and being outside with allergens sounded miserable, we are starting next week instead.

What have you done this week so far?

October Already!?

Where has the time been going these days? I somehow find myself doing nothing and yet everything at the same time. Time is going by so quickly!

Today I am doing homework and organizing my office/craft room. Ready to turn it into a good study zone and craft area. Definitely need the storage and organization in there. And last night I officially finished tossing/shredding the leftovers from Cypress.

Tomorrow is a well deserved massage with Heather. We are getting the works done! Full body massage, hot towel treatment, foot scrub, etc. And Heather booked us the "couples" room so we can chit chat during the whole treatment. Super excited to relax and get ready for a great weekend.

Speaking of weekend... This one will be great!

Elayne will be staying with my parents Friday night, and Phillip's parents Saturday night. It worked out to celebrate my birthday this weekend so yay! It'll be relaxing and tons of eating. Plus, we've needed to get a few things done around the house. Phillip and Michael are also building a deck structure so we can finally enjoy the fire pit we got for Christmas last year! And the weather Saturday will be PERFECT for it. I am also thinking about getting a hair cut this weekend.

What a way to end the week, right? :)