Well, the last year of my 20s has arrived. To be honest, I'm feeling really good about it, too! I had a fantastic 29th year (as my boss reminded me, now actually starts my 30th year), and just know this next year will be even better.

The year started with a ski trip in Colorado with my Father and Brother-in-law, and hubby of course! We skied Breckenridge and Beaver Creek. It was a quick trip, but so worth it to get the skis on and remind myself "I can do this."

In March we took our "spring break" trip to Naples, FL to visit my parents, and all of the great friends we have that joined them for the snowbird life. This was a jam packed week including a trip to Ft. Lauderdale to visit Dave's God Brother, and a couple days in Key West for a friends' wedding.

Over the summer months we enjoyed living by the lake and taking the dog to the park.

We celebrated the upcoming birth of our daughter with three baby showers. One here in Chicagoland with the Dave's side, one in Michigan with my side of the family, and a final shower back here in Chicago with my girlfriends.

Thankfully we managed to squeeze a very quick trip to Higgins Lake. I can't imagine a whole summer passing and not going there. I only hope it will one day be as special a place to Noelle as it is to me.

In the fall we moved, endured a big job change, and welcomed our daughter in the middle of October. Just close enough to Halloween to have a big 1st birthday with a Halloween theme this year. Daddy is excited already!

Thanksgiving was low key here in Illinois with a small group of family - those of us left here.

Christmas was spent in Michigan in the quietness of the "woods." It was so great to get away and really have some R&R. Noelle got to meet half of her Great Grandparents, and her Great Great Aunt. It was nice to be with the family in my favorite place for her first Christmas.

We spent time with the other half of the family back in Chicago, after the holiday. It's always nice to have family in town, and even more so now with a baby. It makes the holidays just that much more exciting.

New Years was the most low key one yet, and for these new parents it meant asleep before the ball dropped!

I truly had a fantastic year, and am so excited for all that this year has in store.

Cheers!

It turns out, it's extremely hard to take care of an infant, work full-time from home, manage a dog, and blog all in one day. So, I will apologize for this two month update being almost two weeks late! Before I know it, I'll be here again writing about Noelle's third month.

Making faces, and waiting for daddy to get home.

Noelle grew like a weed in her second month. From 7 lbs 13 oz at her one month check up, she weighed in at 10 lbs just one month later! She also got a few inches taller. Noelle's eyes opened up more, and she really started discovering her hands. We did get a few "what is your son's name?" so I purchased some headbands to make it more obvious that she is a girl. (Apparently the pink clothing isn't enough!)

SO BIG!

Play time!

"Mom, it's kinda cold out here.
Isn't this dog ready to go inside yet?"

Noelle celebrated her first Thanksgiving, and was in a turkey coma almost the whole time. I guess just the smell of the turkey can make you drowsy too!

Taking a Thanksgiving nap.

It was a great month, as you can see, and I can't wait to update everyone on the third month. Noelle changes a little bit every day. The New Year surely has great things in store for us!

Happy New Year to you!

As I've mentioned before, since Noelle has joined us, time has really flown by. We've done so much in her short time here, too!

Before we even got home from the hospital Noelle had several visitors who were excited to welcome her. Cammy, Aunt B and Aunt Steph all met her during her first couple days.

When we came home Cammy and Grandpa visited for two weeks. They had to get enough snuggles in to last them until Christmas! And, Aunt Erica flew in from New York to escape (not really, but conveniently) the hurricane. Noelle got to meet her first friend Leena and her mom Aunt Carrie, and Aunt Kristen came over to teach her how to cheer for U of M football. Great Aunt Pam, Mark and Sophia brought a delicious lunch spread, and visited for the afternoon. Finally after the initial dust had settled Noelle's west coast NeNe and Da arrived. Noelle had lots of play time and photo shoots while they were visiting, and mom and dad got to relax a bit more than usual. 

Noelle loves her car seat which makes it very easy to tote her around with us to get out of the house. She's visited Bed, Bath and Beyond, The Container Store, Land of Nod, Costco and a variety of restaurants. She is getting better at seeing the doctor, and hopefully by her two month check-up her little legs will have beefed up a bit for those vaccinations!

I absolutely love being home with Noelle. It's been a big adjustment, not being around people who can effectively communicate, but I know it will be so hard to go back to work. Our daily routine is pretty regular at this point. Thankfully, Noelle enjoys the Ergo Baby carrier as much as mom does, so we're able to go for a few walks with Halas during the day, and we always look forward to when daddy is home from work, and we can hang out as a family :)

We have a lot of firsts coming up in the next months: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years. I'm looking forward to sharing these memories with you, as well as everything in between!

Well, just as mommy had hoped, our baby girl came a week early. Noelle Irene Silverman was born on October 15, 2012 at 12:32 pm. She was a petite little lady weighing 6 pounds, 3 ounces, and only 18 inches long. She stole our hearts immediately.

It's hard to believe that a week has gone by so quickly. While my parents visit, we're sending photos to Las Vegas until Noelle's west coast grandparents can come for a visit in November. Here's a few of my favorite shots from the past week.

I'll do my best to keep up the blogging as much as I can.  We'll definitely have a firsts to tell you about in the coming weeks. Noelle enjoyed her first Bears game last night, will meet her Aunt Erica this weekend, and celebrate her first Halloween next week. We're staying busy as usual, and trying to catch as much sleep as we can in between!

We're back! Last week we had a nice spring break in sunny Florida. Even better? We brought the sunshine back with us and have been enjoying unseasonably warm temperatures in the north. Keep up the good work Mother Nature!

We started the vacation with a birthday celebration for the hubs! It was a day full of relaxing pool side, and dinner with family and friends.

For the rest of our time in Naples we, well, did basically the same thing as we did the first day: lots of pool time, lots of good seafood, and memories with family and friends. Throw a little bocce ball and tennis in there and we fit right in with all of the retirees!

Half way through the trip we started our journey to Key West in our rented Jeep Liberty with a layover in Ft. Lauderdale. We had a great dinner with Dave's God Brother, James, at the most delicious strip mall restaurant I think I've ever eaten at!

The next day our journey on US 1 to Key West was in full swing. With a minor detour (and when I say  'minor' I really mean major) as we had to go back to Ft. Lauderdale when we reached Homestead because someone forgot all of their clothes. But, once we got going, boy was that drive beautiful.

Key West was awesome. A great mash-up of celebration for our (now) newly wed friends, exploring and relaxing. It was so fun to be on vacation with all of our friends, and I can't wait for the opportunity to do that again someday!

And, finally, a personal highlight, our trip to Mallory Square!

Are you tired? I am. Time for a vacation from vacation!

Tonight was one of my best friends' birthday so a few of us got together for some tapas and sangria. We had a nice two and a half hour dinner, and headed on our separate ways home.

As I entered my apartment building (which as a side, is across the street from a college campus), I said "hello" to my doorman who is there every week night when I get home. Tonight I got home at 9:45, not 5:45 pm. This is what happened from there:

Doorman: "You just getting home now?"

Me: "Yes, was out for a girlfriend's birthday."

Doorman: "Nice, have a good night."

Me: "You too."

*I head over to the elevator where another girl is walking into it right in front of me.

College girl: "What floor?"

Me: "Eight, thanks."

College girl: "So, you were out for a friends' birthday, and you're home already?"

Me: "Ya, we have to wake up early for work in the morning."

College girl: "But still, it's a Thursday. You could still be out for a little while longer."

Me: "Well, I guess this is what happens when you get old."

College girl chuckles to herself, out loud, and gets out at her floor.

I mean, really? Are we that old? I don't feel that old. And, to be honest, I much prefer our long dinners on a week night, to our crazy nights out of our younger years.

To college girl in the elevator: you just wait. Those sweat pants that you've been wearing all day, savor those moments because this is your future, and will be here before you know it!

Our year has gotten off to a great start!

We have implemented our jar of memories, and already have one memory sealed away until next year.

We celebrated my 28th birthday. A group of us got together for brunch at Frontier in Chicago. It was a great brunch with fabulous company. I'm so grateful to have such wonderful friends.

This past weekend we went on a short ski weekend with the FIL (father-in-law) and BIL (brother-in-law). We flew into Denver Friday, went to Breckenridge and to Beaver Creek, and were back home by Monday evening. It was (probably) our only ski outing of the season, so we really made the most of it. I now have a second favorite destination (Steamboat is still #1) in Colorado - Beaver Creek! The runs were long, and not too crowded. The scenery surrounding the slopes was beautiful, and had homes intertwined with the mountain. I would highly recommend it!

We're only 18 days into the New Year, and it's been so awesome! 28 is off to a great start and I know it will be another amazing year!