Old Friends

We arrived in Queensbury (or QBY as I like to say) on Saturday afternoon after about a 7 hour trip. My sister, her husband and their 2 kids arrived from Boston about 30 minutes after us. My parents' quiet, clean house was quickly turned upside down with all the excitement in the air, (not to mention the 3 dogs). Thankfully, their old farmhouse (built in 1805ish) is big enough to hold us all comfortably. Thanks to last year's renovations and my parents' deep well of patience, this house is a perfect spot for us all to converge.

Saturday night, our oldest family friends, the Canavans, came over for dinner. The original 4 (Dave, Louie, Annie and Mike) have grown to 10 with the additions of spouses (Catie and Matt) and kids (David, Annie, Jack, and Luke). While we missed Mike, Catie and the twins (who live in Idaho now) and Annie's husband Matt (who was home with their newest addition Luke,) Dave, Louie, Annie, and sweet little Jack came over.

My mom and Louie

Jack and Annie (Sr)

As soon as Dave walked in the door, he asked to hold Margot; always a sign of a loving man. Here they are, checking each other out.

We celebrated my dad's birthday, too. Thank goodness Braxton, Jack, and Ava were on hand to help blow out the candles. We reminisced about birthdays passed and couldn't believe it had been 18 years since my dad's surprise 50th, one of the many birthdays where we'd all celebrated together. It made me feel old!

Our families have known one another for as long as I can remember. The story goes that my dad and Louie grew up together in the same neighborhood in Schenectedy, NY. They were part of a close-knit group of families who seemed to do everything together, including moving on to Niskayuna, and then building vacation houses and retiring near one another years later. After my dad and Louie had gone their separate ways after high school, they ran into one another at the bank in Glens Falls, NY, about an hour north of where they grew up. They realized they were living close to one another and decided to get together with their respective spouses, (no kids in the picture yet). Little did they know that this chance meeting would lead to (going on) 40 years of friendship and families evolving together. I'm so happy that Margot is now part of our family circle!

Road Trip

Baby Margot had her first official road trip. We drove up to Queensbury for the long weekend to see my family and make the most of some much needed time away. There was something wonderful about bringing our girl to my childhood home to meet her cousins and family friends for the first time. It was a weekend we'll never forget.

We roused our sugar plum at about 6:15am, fed her, packed the car and were on the road by about 7:15am. As you can see here, Margot's excitement was palpable.

We felt like the Canvas Bag Brigade as we loaded things into the car. Thanks to the Canavans, Margot has her very own LLBean tote!

In anticipation of the many idle hours in the car, packing some snacks seemed like a good idea. Plus, I always like having an excuse to make banana bread! Using my grandmother's extra-large bread tin, I threw this together on Friday while Margot slept.

I used pecans from Tucker's mom's backyard (thanks Sassy!) , a little greek yogurt, some oil, a combination of mashed and chopped banans, plus chocolate chips and more pecans on top, as well as all the other standard ingredients. I may have found a winner!

In the end, Margot was a great little traveler. I don't know if it's her age/stage or her sweet disposition that made it easy, but we had no major crying fits, no issues with feeding, and instead, a whole lot of smiles and sleeping!

Margot's wondering "are we there yet?"

Rainy Day

Yesterday, we had a feisty little girl on our hands. She didn't want to sleep and was more interested in looking around, waving her arms and legs, and letting her little voice be heard.

Today was a different story. All she wanted to do was eat and sleep. When she finally woke up, here's the little look she gave me.

Tennessee wanted to get in on the snoozing too.

Margot is 2 months old!

Our little lamb is two months old today. It's amazing to see how much she's grown in just a month. Check out those cheeks and those leggies! I could eat her up.

Here she was, just one month ago!

We thought she was settling into a nice sleeping routine (which included a 7 hour stretch) but this week turned that assumption upside down. Oh well...

At two months, she's...
- very curious, turning her head side to side and following mommy around the room with her gaze.
- sucking her fingers, especially when she's winding down for a nap.
- outgrown her newborn clothes and is wearing 3 month sizes.
- kicking her legs and waving her arms constantly.
- bobbing her head around when she's on her belly and when she's being held upright. She's got a strong little neck!

My Cupid

This morning, I woke up to this sweet little face next to me. Tucker had an early meeting so he brought her into our room a little earlier than usual.

I snapped a pic of Margot in her Valentine's day PJs. Thank you Cousin Lucy!

A few hours later, she was off to dream land again which meant I had time to bake. I found this amazing recipe for chocolate cake by Ina Garten that I've been excited to try. I worked quickly while little M slept and she woke up just as these came out of the oven.

I put Margot in the Ergo baby while I made the frosting. Mmmm!

Dinner (sushi thanks to Tucker)...

and cake was a perfect ending to the day!

WIll you be my Valentine?

Live Wholeheartedly

In honor of Valentine's day, I thought I'd post one of my favorite videos. As a school counselor, I love these sorts of lectures, but I think this is one that resonates with just about anyone. Depending on what's stirring inside you, it's a video about vulnerability, or shame, or perfection, or courage, or numbing. For me, it's about wholeheartedness. I hope you'll watch it and be reminded of what really matters this Valentine's day. Spread the love!

Petits Pieds

When I opened the dryer this afternoon, I found these three socks left behind from a previous load of laundry. Even the socks of little girls are so sweet!