Throwback Thursday: Our First Couches

Dear Em,
Daddy & I dated for almost five years before we moved in together. Before that, we lived in dorms & dorm apartments. When we moved into our first apartment together, I was ready to be an adult in a REAL apartment.

We didn't start with much furniture. Actually, we started with a futon & a big screen TV (the TV was your Daddy's first large purchase after getting his first job out of college). I loved picking out items & decorating that first apartment. We didn't have a lot of money. We were just out of college & grad school & saving for our wedding. I tried to find great deals & filled our home with DIY projects.

It was a proud moment when we bought our first couch set. It was my first big girl purchase for our apartment. At times our apartment didn't seem like much of an adult apartment. We had a Foosball & beer pong table where a dining room table should have been, but I loved that apartment & I loved those couches. They were nice looking but comfy for fun get-togethers with friends.

They were perfect for snuggling.

Did I mention they were comfy?

When we moved into our house, we got an even more adult set of leather couches. Our first couches moved down to mantown (as did our beer pong table & RedSox/Patriots decor), & even you enjoyed some fun couch time.

We had the couches for over eight years, eight years of amazing memories. Recently we bought new couches for our living room, & it just made sense to move our leather couches into mantown. Which means our first couches were moved to the curb. Literally. Your Uncle Jared brought them to the curb in the middle of the night with a sign that said "FREE," & before the end of the next day our couches were gone. 

I was glad not to have to store couches we didn't have room for, but it was a little bitter sweet. I just hope someone out there is enjoying our first adult couches as much as we did.

I love you so,

Mommy

Princess Birthday Party: The Theme

Dear Em,

* This the first post of 4 posts recapping an adorable 4.5 Princess Birthday Party. See also Princess Birthday Party: The Invites, Princess Birthday Party: The Venue, & Princess Birthday Party: the Food. *

This past weekend we had your 4.5 birthday party (For those who are reading this & are new to the blog, since your birthday is in the middle of Christmas & New Years Day & we're typically traveling, we celebrate your birthday just as family on your actual birthday. Then in June we throw a party for you & your little friends to celebrate your half birthday). You & your little friends had an absolute blast, & I loved every moment of the celebration. It was my favorite birthday party yet.

It started with the theme. Daddy & I talked about what kind of party we should have this year. Ultimately, we decided on a theme that is all you: a Princes Party. You love everything about princesses. Princess shows & stories are your favorite, & you're constantly twirling around in princess costumes. It's actually pretty funny, because I swore I would never raise a frilly, little, princessy girl. And yet, here you are, & I couldn't imagine raising a more amazing child.

So, we gave you your dream & invited you & your little friends to be princesses for an afternoon. I'm so glad we did. This is just a little preview of the cuteness.

For the next few Wednesdays, I'll be recapping your super fun, super sweet princess party. Stay tuned...

I love you so,

Mommy

Ready for a Snow Day

Dear Em,
This is how you looked, running into my room a couple weeks ago...

"I'm READY for a snow day," you proclaimed with excitement.

I know that we had a rough winter & a chilly spring, but I'm really hoping you don't get your snow day for a while. It is finally summer, after all. Then again, it's New England. So, who knows.

I love you so,
Mommy

Falling Asleep In My Arms Days

Dear Em,

In the early hours of morning you came to me whimpering because your head hurt. I scooped you up in my arms & laid you down next to me in my bed. I closed my eyes & rested, all the while listening to the sound of you breathing as you lay snuggled in next to me. 

I'm not sure if it was your stillness or the slow, deep rhythm of your breathing, but I suddenly noticed that you had fallen asleep in my arms. This NEVER happens. Happily, I soaked in every second of this precious moment. I took in the smell of your hair. I listened to the sounds of your breathing. I enjoyed every second of your little girl snuggles, all the while thinking about how I haven't had a moment like that since you were a baby.

It was a hard thing to slip out of bed while you continued to sleep & get ready for work, but I have hope. Maybe your fall asleep in my arms days are not tally over. Maybe.

I love you so,
Mommy

Throwback Thursday: Jayme & Julie

Dear Em,
This is my best friend Jayme & I...& the silly guy dressed up like a Hooters girl is our friend Glen.

Thirteen years, four graduations, two weddings, multiple jobs, multiple moves, & three kids later here Jayme & I are now.

She is now Aunt Jayme to you & I am Aunt Julie to her two littles. We started as friends, but she & her family have become more like family. I truly felt like I had come home to family during our most recent trip, & it felt really amazing. You fit right in, playing princesses with Uncle Bill, making messes with Uncle Steve, studying elements with Papi Z, & rocking with Mama Z.

I've been so incredibly blessed in this lifetime, & one of the things I am most thankful for is the friendship/sisterhood I've found in Jayme (people have asked us so many times if we're sisters, we decided on the last trip to just respond "yes"). To have a best friend who supports me, who talks me off the ledge sometimes, who will pick up right where we left off no matter how much time has passed, who tells me I'm doing OK when I feel like I'm the worst, who makes me laugh, who loves my family like her own, whose family has become my family, who loves me for me...I pray that you will find friendship like this in your lifetime.

I'm so very thankful that you will grow up knowing that our Ohio family loves you.

I love you so,
Mommy

Tarzan & Jane & Baby D too

Dear Em,
Yesterday I recapped our Ohio adventure, but I wanted to talk a little bit more about what a joy it was to watch you play with T & baby D. To be able to spend time with my best friend while watching our littles love each other...sigh...my heart was so full.

Let me start by saying that you are a girls girl. You are never as happy as when you have little girls to play with. You are in your element playing baby, barbies, & dress up. Sure, you'll play with little boys too, but mostly you enjoy spending your moments with your girlfriends...except when it comes to T & Baby D. You fondly tell everyone that they are your cousins, & I smile at the idea that our dear friends have become our family.

While we only get to see T twice a year, we try to talk on the phone and on face time frequently. I never talk to him without him asking, "where's Emma?" The two of you were so excited to be together at last. You jumped in right away by reading each other books.

Really, the two of you were happy doing almost anything as long as you were doing it together.

Except for when you two were ready to kill each other (sharing was a little bit of a big deal), there was so much love going on.

Although baby D is still a newborn & not very mobile, you two did your best to include him in the fun. Honestly, I couldn't have been more proud of what a big girl you were, Em. When baby D cried, you jumped right in to do your best to soothe him. You told Nonnie that baby D "is a really good baby...when he's not crying." Ha!

On one of the nights we were in Ohio, we hung out in the backyard. You & T had kind of your own date night (don't tell Daddy). You grilled for dinner, went for a drive, roasted some marshmallows, & then headed for "the wilderness" (some trees on the side of the yard). You two had sticks in your hands, & you told me you were Tarzan & Jane, exploring the wilderness. I smiled as I watched you from across the yard & felt like my heart might burst. I love the way you two love each other.

I can't wait to see what adventures lay ahead for Tarzan & Jane & baby D too.

I love you so,
Mommy