my boys.

i spy...

...a dilligent gardener.

one of my favorite things to do lately is spy on husband from baby's nursery as he carefully tends to his garden each morning. it makes my heart swell to see him look after something with such care and to witness the pride he has for his little plants.

i can't wait to see his love for our little human...will my heart simply explode?

i am thinking it is quite possible.

friday.saturday.sunday.monday.

the fun began friday evening. erika was in town and a night of fun was ahead of me.

i came home from work exhausted, worried i would be a bore...but as soon as this girl arrived, my second wind did too. she has a way of doing that to me.

we laid on the couch and chatted for a bit and soon headed to chipotle in search of protein and iron.

we found it.

and from then it just got better. i had prepared myself for an early night (boo hoo), as erika had a long drive ahead of her, but then she suggested macy's and i had to contain my excitement. she acted as my personal shopper in the maternity section where i was able to cross something off my list: cute nursing outfit that i don't have to be embarrassed to be seen in post partum. check.

and finally, our old stand-by: leatherby's. i won't soon forget this little gem of a friday. thanks, e.

****

saturday morning found me working for my old boss for a little extra dough - felt good to be back, and then back at home for a little afternoon of baking with my dear tracey. we giggled, read recipes, and drank decaf like two old birds.

i wanted to bake some cookies for the mister and we also baked muffins and lemon yogurt cake for new mama christy. my favorite part was watching tracey run to the porch like a navy seal and leave a basket a goodies - all unnoticed.

****

sunday. anniversary day. mister had to work for most of the day, but we started the morning with waffles and defrosted our wedding cake.

in the afternoon, i felt my heart melt as i got to meet baby dylan for the first time....swoooooon. (pictures of his darling face to come!)

but once the evening arrived, mister came home, we dressed up and headed downtown. to morton's. a place for celebrations. steak, scallops, salads - such a slow, memorable meal. every bite was divinity.

and then, the sheraton plaza. i love this hotel. well any hotel really. but this one is special. the bath products, the linens, the free usa today delivered under your door in the morning...i love it all.

a baby view and a city view.

****

monday morning found us watching morning tv and reading the papes with coffee in bed. and then, to the pool, despite the windy skies and 60 degree temps. it was all i had wanted to do and the mister bravely agreed. we swam and floated and remembered our honeymoon. and my swollen feet appreciated the water. it felt incredible.

back at home, we tended to our garden, sat on the patio, did some laundry, assembled our new nursery chair, watched movies, ate leftovers and finally, exchanged our cards. i cried. of course.

and i felt so grateful. even the ordinary days are dreamy with this guy.

one year

june 5th. one year. wowza.

that day was just so perfect sometimes i wonder if it really happened the way i remember it. but then i look at the pictures and see it captured on film. it did happen as i remember it. all those people. all that love for us. and then i see ryan at the end of that grassy aisle, under that big oak tree, with all that love for me. and i, for him. ahhhhhh. it was my best day. ever.

and today, it was one year ago.

our newlywed skins have now been shed, but with that comes a bit more wisdom, a lot more understanding and a whole lotta love. being married does feel different. which i wasn't so sure about before. and it is true what they say...the love just grows.

so tonight, we will look at our vows and eat that amazing cake again, all with the hope that those tender words and sweet flavors help bring back a bit of that magic we felt one year ago....i think it will.

and to my ryan, you are my favorite everything. and you make me feel like all is right with the world and that happiness is ours for the taking.

i love you. long time.

yours forever, L

paint, gardens and cribs

the weekend was full. full of busy and hard work. one big team kelly effort.

*we painted our nursery after i finally decided on the right blue. it took me seven samples. some too purple. some too bright. some too grey. and of course, it had to be perfect. it just had to match up with the vision i had in my head: a blue that would look beautiful with peach, pink and yellow for a girl baby, and a blue that would compliment greens, yellows and oranges for a boy baby.

we found it.

*we finally planted our first garden plot. tomatoes, green beans, basil and pumpkins.

a lot of hope and love lies in that little plot. and i am glad that ryan is happily responsible for our patch. his thumb is a lot greener than mine.

*we ryan set up our darling little crib. my favorite part was watching him tighten all the screws like lug nuts on a tire, not in order. and then he said that he wanted to tighten them again before the baby actually slept in the crib. so sweet.

i stare at that little white crib about once an hour.

*by the end of each day, we were starving and tired. honest work makes food taste so good. saturday we bbq'ed chicken and sunday night i made bowtie lasagna.

and here is where it gets weird. after our sunday supper, we finally crashed on the couch to watch a movie. ryan promptly fell asleep and i tried to pay attention but i felt so overwhelmed as i reflected on the weekend, that i cried. as in sobbed.

tears of happiness.

i have cried many types of tears over the last few months: frustrated tears, sentimental tears, angry tears, scared tears, grateful tears, tired tears, and hormonal tears. lots of hormonal tears. but that sunday night, i cried because the satisfied, contented and happy feelings bubbling inside me needed some type of escape. some type of relief before they exploded....

i thought about how the love i feel for ryan continues to surprise me.

i thought about how everything was about to change. and just get better.

i thought about how we spent the weekend: working side by side, cleaning, painting our baby's room, planting a garden, cooking, setting up our baby's crib. it all felt so big.

but it was that crib really got to me. there was something about opening that big box containing all the parts of our shiny new crib that i gasped a bit. wanting so badly to remember what it felt like to see this crib for the first time knowing that someday, all too soon, this crib's paint will be chipped and chewed on, and will have cradled the first months of all our babies' lives. and then, before i know it, all those babies will be too tall and it will be diassembled and packed away.

without words, and with each task, we both knew it was a momentous weekend. a time that felt a bit like standing on a cliff. we were on the brink of preparing to meet and know our family. and we knew it. so with paint brushes in hand, topsoil stuck on our shoes, and bbq sauce on our fingers, we kissed a bit more, threw out several more "i love you's" and stared more often than normal, trying so hard to freeze time a bit and solidify this memory.

soon, my tears began to dry as something told me that even when i am old and gray, i won't have a hard time remembering this past weekend. the weekend we felt our hearts begin to expand. the weekend we spent in a flood of anticipation and excitement of what was to come.


the weekend when it was all just beginning...




p.s. sorry for all the cheesy sentiment. but i really can't help it. i just one big, mess of a sap lately. just the sight of a baby on a pampers commerical brings instant tears to my eyes. please tell me i am not alone.

the happiest place on earth

last thursday, ryan told me we were headed south for the weekend, specifically to disneyland! i nearly died. seriously. we drove through the night, arriving at this magical place just after they opened. i could hardly contain my excitement. weird, because i don't watch the movies over and over, have a disney bumper sticker on my car, nor do i collect disney figurines. i just love this place. i don't know if it will ever lose it's lustre, nor am i sure that i will ever understand what exactly it is about this place that makes me so very, very happy...but i know i am not alone.

sleeping beauty's castle was the first stop-it was nice to realize that there was something, some ride or attraction that i had yet to experience, especially since aurora was my favorite princess when i was a girl. we weaved through the stone staircases, reading all about malificent, aurora and her prince...

second stop: lunch. i would be lying if i said that a large part of disneyland's appeal this time was the food. years ago i ate the chicken fusili pasta at the pizza port and i haven't forgotten about it since.

it did not disappoint.

peter pan's flight may have been my favorite this time. i squealed and giggled the entire time. so did ryan. but i think he was laughing at me.


the majestic matterhorn.


it was our first time on nemo's submarine. it was alright.


did i mention it was over eighty degrees that day? it was heavenly...


buzz lightyear's astro blasters was a real blast...



...clearly. check out those scores! it was some stiff competition.



tarzan's treehouse is another favorite. i would love to have this beauty in my backyard for the occasional campout.









ryan's favorite: the haunted mansion!


main street. it gives me goosebumps every time.



oh boy-my worst nightmare!



we headed back to the hotel in the afternoon to rest our feet and get some warmer clothes. i love hotels. especially hotels with robes.

our night in disneyland ended with clam chowder in a bread bowl, fireworks, the teacups, and a second trip on pirates of the caribbean. it felt complete, but there was still a piece missing...

the entire day we had been searching for an elusive cookie, one that can only be found in disneyland. one that ryan had a couple of years ago and never forgot. finally, on our last trip down main street, i suddenly desired hot cocoa and and there in a glass case inside the coffee shop was the very cookie we had been searching for. we bought three. and some milk. ryan was tickled.

and then we hopped on the train and rode around the park at closing time eating and drinking our chocolate treats.

it was such a perfect way to end one of the happiest days.

love night

i hurried home to find a husband that had shopped for a cozy dinner at home that would suit my craving of the day: spaghetti. mmmmmm....

ryan pulled the valentine's day box from the garage so i could set a special table. and we lit our valentine's day candle.

no wine for this preggo. instead i had a delightful and refreshing spritzer. made with orange juice, pineapple juice and a splash of sprite.

cheers! to us!

after supper, we ate cookies and milk and cuddled on the couch watching shows that had piled up on our dvr.

we exchanged cards. ryan made mine from scratch. it was perhaps the cutest thing i have ever received. i felt like a bit of a slacker handing over my store-bought card. but i couldn't resist the opportunity to buy my first "for husband" card.

and as if to perfectly wrap up our valentine's celebration, this morning i heard our little baby's heartbeat for the first time. fast, strong and steady. just like mama likes it.

love day

i smiled the second my alarm buzzed it's annoying horn on this cold, rainy morning.



i lumbered to the kitchen and admired all the red and pink treats that were left at our house or found in our mailbox over the weekend. cards and confections from moms and dads, sisters and grandparents.



i kissed my sleeping lover and told him that my heart was over flowing today and that like every monday, i couldn't wait to get home to him. he smiled and dozed back off.



i put on my red coat, the one i bought myself the day after ryan asked me to be his. and i smiled when i realized that it was now far t0o small to button.



i drove to work and smiled as i passed a young boy riding his bike eagerly through the rain. a single rose surrounded by baby's breath stuck out of his backpack. full of promise and hope.



and then for breakfast i ate one of the chocolate chip cookies that my mom had made for us, without nuts, because she knows ryan doesn't like nuts in his cookies. and then i ate a banana because i felt bad.



usually on this day, ryan and i stay home, and drink wine, and together make our traditional shrimp scampi with salad and garlic bread, but this year shrimp really grosses me out. i don't know what we will eat tonight, but i know that it will be equally romantic. even if we eat cereal.



i love this day.



and after one of the dreamiest weekends, i love this man more than i ever thought possible.

down by the seashore

last weekend, my mr. kelly took me on a very lovely getaway. i needed it. bad. we have hardly had a day alone together in weeks, let alone two days in a row. and this lack of sunshine and the bitter cold have really been getting to me. maybe you have noticed my blog has been feeling less than "inspired".

the beach. with ryan. was just what the doctor ordered.

both possess such restorative powers for me.

*we ate out. i ordered pesto. surprise, surprise.

*we ate chocolate covered strawberries. fancy!

*we watched television in bed for hours. which is quite a luxury if you don't have a television in your bedroom at home.

*i blogged. fireside.

*i took a lazy bath and read magazines.

*we strolled on the beach at sunset.

*we hiked bodega head trail.

*we had a picnic lunch, complete with the most delicious deli sandwiches and kettle chips.

*and then we drove home and watched eclipse. yes, my man will watch twilight movies with me.

my mister had a birthday. a big one.

so we had a little party to celebrate. complete with balloons, streamers (courtesy of my Em), a keg filled with celebration ale and presents.

and of course, what is a party without food and spirits. beer, wine, and dirty shirleys. mmmmmmm.

the sisters made spinach dip and blood orange shrimp dip. ryan's mom made peanut clusters and rocky road, and my mama made ham and brie sammies. how lucky am i for all the help. major lucky.

if it weren't for my sisters, this party would not have happened. true story. they came the night before to help me tie bows, chop veggies and clean my oven. Yes, my sisters cleaned my oven for me. i could cry thinking of all that they did.

there also would be no pictures of this little party if my sisters weren't there. so thanks girls.

after trevor and my mom had some type of bonding moment while remininsing our high school years, he became the star of the show and we all laughed at him for hours.

mistletoe mischeif

and then there was dessert.

my mister loves dessert so i went to town the week before whipping up his favorites. coconut cupcakes, chocolate cake, and cheesecake.

and then we lit the candles, sang, as he contemplated his wish. the whole time i thought, "he is the cutest, sweetest thirty year old I know."

before the night was over we had a little fun with party poppers. ok, maybe a lot of fun.

my mister is thirty and he was so happy and grateful for his party.

it made me happy. really happy. and a little tired.

thank you to all of our friends and family for helping me "cheers" to my ryan.