What a whirlwind

Let me start by apologizing- I can't believe I haven't been on here in almost a week. The craziness that was 'Audrey's Birthday' has taken place and I'm elated to say that I'm still alive!!! Last week was tirelessly spent crafting, planning, counting and finalizing all the details of Audrey's very first Birthday bash--nautical themed-- and I feel it was incredibly successful! Lil' PB was surrounded by family and friends from near and far- her great Aunt Mimi even traveled in for the shindig-- coming in from Orlando, FL!! I'm also SO happy that our cousins, Tim & Lauren, made the trip from Columbus with the precious little girl, Collins. I was so upset at the thought that we might not meet her before we left, but it was a birthday miracle!! I just love seeing babies interact with one another.

Speaking of babies-- our little Audrey wasn't the only angel celebrating the big O-N-E this weekend. That's right, Conor's birthday celebration was today- Erin really outdid herself with this one. It was farm themed and SO incredibly detailed. I was really excited to finally see a baby actually excited over their cake- C man really dove into it, unlike A- who once again viewed the cake as very questionable. She clearly got her dislike of sweets from both her parents ;-)

Going back to Audrey's birthday/going away party/family reunion.... I've just got to say, it was the most amazing feeling to have an entire day to goof around and play with our families. I love how much they all enjoy being around one another....even with the rather intense football rivalry (bills vs. dolphins; yadda yadda). Watching my dad, my husband, my uncle and my father-in-law playing countless games of corn hole; and all my aunts laughing hysterically with my mother-in-law... oh, and lets not forget how hilarious it was teaching my grandma how to play Catchphrase (an Ihasz family addiction)- was just so heartwarming. Rob and I are so lucky that our families don't just 'tolerate' one another- but genuinely look forward to seeing one another. I hope it's an annual gathering, especially for Audrey's sake- I think it would be amazing for her to grow up with a mindset that she has one huge awesome family :)

I started with an apology, and I'm going to end with a pre-apology. This is our big moving week. I have an inkling that I barely know the craziness that lies ahead. Our packers will be here all day Tuesday, loaders will take over all day Wednesday; then Audrey and I fly out at 7:20am on Thursday morning. It's absurd for me to even try to think about how I am going to pack tomorrow for Thursday to last up to 8 days for both myself and Audrey. I can't wait until next week, when I can look back and my overwhelmed self right now- and laugh. It just hit me tonight that my relationship with Robert was completely developed in this house. We only met several months after he bought it. Our 3rd date was a home cooked dinner of beer chicken, rice, green beans and salad (still our favorite meal to this day). In that same dining room, Rob got on one knee and asked me to marry him. A little over a year later, I stood in that dining room again- this time surrounded by most of my favorite girls as they helped me into my Wedding dress. Just shy of a year later, I leaned over that dining room table waiting for Rob to help me to the car because I was in such horrible labor pain. And now- well, up to a month ago when Rob was here- in that same dining room, we wheel in her high chair and would have dinner as a family. It's crazy to think that in only 4 short days, we will never be in this dining room again. It wasn't the greatest house in the universe, but it was our home- and we will always have a misunderstood love for it :)

XOXO   (Sorry for the lack of pictures- again, I was very distracted. Will hopefully have some to share soon)

 

 

 

*sneaking into Grandpa's chip stash*

 

*Catchphrase!*

Say it ain't so

How, How, HOW is my lil' Peanut Butter ONE already?!?! I didn't mean to blink, but there it is- my baby is now a toddler. I hope in here eyes that we had a fun day- baby girl slept in until 9:30am! I think she was confused as to whose birthday it was and who was supposed to be receiving gifts, but I was one happy Mommy! I got up early to pack her bag, so once she was up- we were off to Ihop for a Pajama breakfast, yum! We noshed on a ham & Cheese omelet, French Toast and Fresh fruit- her fav! Well, the French Toast was a newbie, but I was thrilled to see her devour it! She was rocking her 'Birthday Girl' crown (as she did all day) and everyone was coming to wish her a Happy Birthday, this kid loves attention- no clue where she got that from ;-)

Next, we ran over to Home Depot so that Mommy could put together her birthday gift- her own set of keys! I know, sounds absurd- and slightly unsafe? Wrong. A loves to shop- as long as she has my keys to nibble on a play with, now that is unsanitary. So, I bought some blank keys, some colored rubber key tops, a lanyard and added my old unused key fob and some scan tags-- Audrey barely let it leave her side all day! And now she won't scream at me when I need the keys, ya know- to drive?

We got home just in time for a bit of goofing off, then nap time. She slept great while I prepped for Saturdays big shindig in the attic (eek!!!). When she got up, we boringly ran some errands; but when we got home, Aunt Rachel and Kevin followed shortly with some birthday cake! And minutes after they arrived, so did Aunt Becca with Audrey's favorite dinner, Panera!! What a fun little evening- although A really wasn't too taken by the cake. It will be interesting to see what she does on Saturday.

We ended our day with a bit of playtime, bath and bedtime snuggles. I know, I know- pretty low key. But Saturday she has so many awesome family & friends coming into town to play and celebrate. I am so glad we got to spend the day together though.

Poor Robert had a really hard time not being able to here. I completely understand, but luckily- this is a birthday she won't really remember. Saturday will be documented by our amazing friend & photographer, Gabriella Gallo, so Audrey will be able to look back at her birthday--and will see her Dad was there :)

So now, to reminisce about the year.... at this time last year, Audrey started waking up from her day long sleep, crying- hard. Of course, I was just about to actually get tired. It was a long first night- she just wanted to be held, I just wanted to sleep- and I read far too many articles about 'not sleeping with your baby'. Then I remembered, 'She's my baby, and I can do what I want'. So I propped my arm up on her boppy, cuddled her close and just laid my head next to hers- there we stayed, sleeping, for about 30 minutes until the nurse walked in and I freaked out that she was going to take my baby away- so I obviously played it like I had been awake the entire time! Haha.

I can't believe the amount of information I have gathered over the last 365 days. I can change a diaper in under a minute, and I can change a diaper in the dark. I have a memorized checklist that I run thru before I leave the house- and am happy to report that in a year, I've only forgotten a handful of items. I know just all the words to just about every show on Baby First TV (channel 293) and can recite 'Sesame Street: Bedtime Stories' forwards and backwards from memory---try me! I completely understand why my baby girl is crying--and it's mostly just to hear herself, lol. I swear my reaction time has doubled; I may even dare to say it has tripled! I've made some really incredible friendships over the last year; and some friendships have grown stronger with the new 'baby bond'.

On that note, I'm incredibly sad to say that I've lost a couple friends this last year. It's so SO unfortunate; but I hope when they are lucky enough to start their families- they will realize that within that first year (and I'm probably about to realize that I mean within the next 17 years as well)- your life changes. I'm obsessively in love with my new life. I love being a Mommy & Wife, I love watching my lil' PB grow up and seeing everything all over again thru her big beautiful blue eyes. I keep reading these facebook posts lately 'I'm sorry to my 'non mommy' friends', blah blah. I hope this isn't harsh, but I'm not sorry. I'm not sorry that I have an amazing family who I put first. I'm not sorry that I am now responsible for the way a human being grows up and acts in society. I'm not sorry because one day you'll realize that nothing matters quite like that little bundle does, just like I've realized now, and you shouldn't be sorry when you change too.

I also want to Thank my fantastic Husband. There were only two things I ever wanted to be when I was little, a Wedding Planner and a Mommy- Rob has supported me constantly through both. I never imagined I would be lucky enough to have my husband tell me that I shouldn't work and he would prefer me to be home with our baby. Sure, I get lonely, I miss adult conversation, daily showers (yikes, I know!)- but he's allowed me to get such quality time that is so priceless with our girl. He's worked so hard to ensure we are taken care of- and he has such an enormous amount of love for our little girl that I occasionally just watch them a cry a little. He's a real gem- don't get me wrong, he's a real pain in the ass too sometimes; but at the end of the day- I would rather be annoyed with or fight with him, than be with anyone else.....ever....always ;-)

On that note, Happy First Birthday my truly amazing and special little girl- I cannot wait to watch you slowly grow up into a beautiful, talented, smart and strong woman that I know you are bound to be.

XOXO

Throwback to our first pic together; minutes old!

9:08am on 9/08/14- wake up, you're ONE!

Wowza

What a weekend!! Quality time with Daddy, Moserfest, and a winning home opener for the Dolphins :)

Sorry to have been MIA, but hotel living with the nug is exhausting so I opted to hold my tongue until tonight. We left the house sparkling clean Friday morning and took off for Columbus with Rob on the mind. Audrey slept the whole ride- which she clearly needed. The remainder of the day was kind of dull- little bit of pool time, run up to Target for some forgotten necessities- but then it was nap time; and who walk thru the door?? DADDY!! Poor guy had been up since 2:57am to catch his 5:30am flight to Columbus so he could make his tee time at 11:00am. At this point (4:30pm) both my favorite people were tuckered out and took a snooze together. I think this was my favorite part of the weekend. Having my family back together, and just watching them cuddle. Of course, time flies when life is great- so off Daddy went again to the Rehearsal dinner for Moserfest while A and I anxiously passed time until bed. Great news- little A only woke up twice from 8:00pm-8:00am!!! I feel like within the next couple nights my 'all night sleeper' will return :)

Saturday was a whirlwind- couple errands with Daddy before sending him off to the venue for the Big Day- then we had quite the adventure meeting up with Grandma and Grandpa Ihasz. Long story short- my poor Father in Law is just not ready to give up on printed mapquest directions; and therefore will always have a hilarious story to tell about how he tried to travel somewhere. I must say though, I think I did a pretty good job of proving the insane benefits of Google maps on the iPhone. Sooooo-drumroll please..... WE MADE IT TO MOSERFEST!! We medicated Audrey, and myself, put on our finest Wedding attire and had such a great time. Some of you may know that Cy (along with Jon) was actually with Rob the day we met-- the minute we met--in fact, Rob leaned to Cy (or so he says) and 'dibbed me'; so Cy has a special place in my heart. I was so upset that A and I were on the verge of not making it- what an amazing event we would've missed. The location for the Ceremony was this beautiful open piece of landed lined with gorgeous flowers and the reception was in a barn- a perfectly rustic barn. They had several Food Trucks providing dinner, I unfortunately missed out on them- but heard they were delish! Live music and flowing alcohol- what more could one want?? Well, one of us really wanted the alcohol- but the amount of meds in my system, oh- and being the DD for Audrey- I obviously held back. Although we had to leave early to get Audrey to bed, it was so nice to be a part of their big day-- and SOOOOO nice to see our friends one last time before the big move.

TODAY, if you haven't already heard the great news- the Dolphins (as in Miami Dolphins football) beat the Patriots!!!! I'm not even kidding!! What a fantastic game- the whole family came over, which was great. I can't remember the last time we were all together with all the craziness going on in our lives. Luckily we still have Peanuts birthday next Saturday. It was bittersweet being there though. Since Rob and I started dating, we've watched majority of our games with family. Don't get me wrong- we've had our fair share of quiet Fin Sundays; but they were typically family oriented. And I realized that today was the last one. Next Sunday, Rob leaves before the game starts- and we have Conor's birthday party; 3 days later- Audrey and I leave. It's so weird how something so simple will probably make me cry every Sunday for the rest of the season (true, but only for a couple seconds....or minutes). Family Football Sundays are probably my favorite memory of Cleveland.

All that said and done- my Nyquil is kicking in, and I've got to eat dinner still!!! Mommy needs her rest tonight because tomorrow...... my baby turns ONE!!!! Ugh, can't even go there right now- tears forming.

XOXO (sorry for the picture overload)

Daddy Eve

I'm not shocked that on 'Daddy Eve', this is the first night since Sunday she hasn't woken up since bedtime (on several nights she would've woken up twice by now). This kid sleeps like a gem whenever Daddy is going to be around-- so naturally, I'm stoked to see him for the weekend and catch up on my sleep :) Although it might not sound like it, I think we started to get on a better path last night. While Audrey had to sleep with me (whomp!), I was able to shift her onto the bed and off of me around 2:00am. From 2:00am to 7:20am she only woke up twice! (maybe 3 times? but no more). SO I felt that it was successful for her. Unfortunately for Mommy, I forgot to take my sleeping pill because I had already mixed Advil and Mucinex for my rapidly developing cold- so I slept/tried to sleep absolutely horribly.

After we got up, I was shocked to see a smile from my little one! First morning smile in a week, oh how I love those! We played for only a little bit- all of a sudden she was leaning against me with her head in my lap, so I pulled her- and at 8:47am, discovered her asleep again! I quickly passed her onto her crib- and the crazy nugget slept until 1:00pm!!!! So, I am hoping this re-found ability to sleep is a good sign; because the rash that is not covering her entire body is something I'm taking as a bad sign
 :(

On a great note- we get to see Daddy tomorrow- and I am dying to be bear hugged right now! Moserfest is upon us (Saturday night) and while I'm hopeful A will make a drastic turnaround- I'm thinking we might be able to sneak over for the Ceremony, but will have to call it quits shortly after. Rob and I also tried to 'keep the romance alive' by enjoying dinner together tonight! Unfortunately, I was unaware we were doing this and had already popped my Nyquil- so I was far less than exciting company, I'm sure.

XOXO

Welcome back beautiful smile :)

It's 8:47am!!! What in heaven's name?! 

Babe's poor rash, just breaking my heart

Dinner date with the hubba-bubba!

Think happy thoughts

Something utterly fabulous has to be coming my way soon. I mean Lights out, Hands down, Over the moon, Blow my mind kind of excellence is soaring into my life shortly. It has to be- there is no other way I would be forced to endure the pain and suffering that I have the last 72 hours.

Audrey not only has four- FOUR- teeth fiercely pushing their way into her teeny tiny mouth, but my poor babe also has hand, foot and mouth. The doctor found sores on her throat yesterday, which helps explain why she hasn't taken a bottle or eaten any food since Monday afternoon. She is in so much pain, and there is really nothing I can do. "Keep her comfortable" my Doctor informed me. Good- easy enough, right? except that any way I position her, hold her, set her down, any toy I give her, any song I sing or food/beverage I present to her seems like absolute torture to her. I could mop our entire house with the amount of drool spilling out of her mouth. I always had an ache in my heart when Rob would be sick and I felt helpless-- he is an adult! An adult who can verbally explain where it hurts, what hurts, what he wants to help make him feel better, etc. This is a whole new pain for me, which is leading me to discover a whole new strength I didn't even know I had. And now for that 'typical true mom moment'..... I still wouldn't trade her or this time I get with her for anything. Ugh, the love you develop for your child- man, it's wicked!

Poor Rob feels awful that this all started mere hours before he got in a car and drove off to our new home. But, I do feel that if we were both dealing with this- we would be at our wits ends, and taking it out on one another. SO, this is probably the best way/time to be dealing with this.

Hope you're all staying healthy, happy and well rested!

XOXO

Speechless

I don't even know where to begin with my Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day..... So I won't. But here is a quick rundown:

- Audrey up several times overnight.
- Rob left us for STL again (only 17 more days until we join him!!)
- Baby refused morning nap.
- Baby followed me around the house screaming as I cleaned for house showing.
- SCORE! Baby slept in car during drive to Avon Lake Pool with Aunt Erin and Conor!!
- Spent a great 2.5 hours splashing around; with several frightful minutes of slipping babies.
- 1/2 SCORE! Super last minute house showing comes thru, slight detour to the Rudy's house to
    kill time; where baby A peed on me and their floor.
- SCORE! Baby slept in the car ride back home!!
- Finally get home and the over tired baby wakes up cranky yet again.
- Baby refuses dinner
- Baby refuses night time bottle
- Baby has already woken up once screaming....

Prediction? Another loooooooooong night. Bad move? Taking a sleeping pill already.

Here are some friendly photos to lead you think today was the opposite of awful; we'll try again tomorrow :)

XOXO