Look Whoooo's 1!

I realize I've taken a seriously long break from blogging. It's been a crazy busy summer, between my job, magazine deadlines, mommy-ing, Geoff being gone and time away. Not to mention, I haven't been in the best of health, but more on that later.

Anyway, my beautiful little girl turned 1 on Sept. 4, and one thing that kept me going was planning her birthday party. I must say, it was a lot of work, but I had blast planning it. I started falling in love with owls and birds when I found out I was pregnant and was planning Paige's nursery. She has owls/birds as an accent in her bedroom, so it only made sense to make them the theme of her first birthday: Look Whoo's 1!

We thought for sure Geoff would be gone, but luckily, he was able to get his leave extended to Sept. 5. We had both sets of parents and town, which made this a triple blessing! :)

Here are a few of my fave photos from the party!

Family Photos

Geoff, Paige and I had our first family photos taken while we were in D.C. Stephen Elliot of Mud Productions took them for us, which was fitting as he did our engagement and wedding photos as well. It was so special for us, and they turned out great. Here's a few of my faves:

Us outside of Union Station.

Love, love, love my family.

Having fun on Capitol Hill.

This little girl is my life's greatest blessing.

So sweet.

Future senator.

Goodbye D.C, again.

After nearly three weeks away, we finally flew back home to California on Saturday. It was tough to let go and say goodbye to the city we love yet again, but at the same time, it was nice to get back to all the luxuries of home and to my sweet puppy. Not to mention, it's ridiculous how difficult it is to not have all of the little baby luxuries around -- i.e. a changing table, high chair, swing, exersaucer, bathtub, etc. Life with Paige is far more easier here at home. I just wish home was still in our beloved D.C.

Nevertheless, we're back, and it was such a memorable trip. D.C. was the first trip I took as a baby (no wonder I love it so much!), so it was special being able to take my own daughter there for her first vacation. I know she'll never remember it, but I hope she too comes to love it as much as we do someday. Here are some of the most memorable photos from our trip:

Geoff & PEA in front of the White House.

Sweet feet on Capitol Mall.

My fave photo. I love how they are both making the same face.

G & P at the Library of Congress.

I think I got a decent shot of the Capitol rotunda.

She adores her daddy.

Ragtime - at the exact spot where Geoff & I met.

Cooperstown

My parents took us to Cooperstown during our visit to PA. Geoff’s a big baseball fan (Go Angels!), and it was really exciting for him to see the hall of fame. Cooperstown is only a couple of hours from my hometown, and the car trip worked in our favor, as Paige napped most of the way! 

By far my fave photo of the day.

A Few Photos

We had a wonderful time visiting Geoff's family in Riverside, Calif. It was perfect timing, as his aunt and uncle from Atlanta and sister Laura and brother-in-law Carl, who's been deployed and has never met Paige, were all in town. It was a full house, but what a blessing to have all of that family together at once. I bought a tripod and managed to get a few nice photos in my in-law's backyard. Enjoy!

The Anderson clan.

Laura & Carl

The faces in this photo are classic.

Carl, Laura & Denny dog

Getting Away

Geoff arrived home from this trip early this morning, and we're in luck, as I booked last-minute plane tickets yesterday to visit his family in Riverside, Calif., before we head off to PA and DC for a couple of weeks. This is what I love about military life (sarcasm): unless you have the rare chance to have actual leave, it's nearly impossible to plan anything. I can't believe this plan actually worked out, although it still was very last minute. With the C-5, which breaks all the time, it's never certain when he'll make it home. This is going to be such a special trip for the three of us. It's our first family trip, and we're actually going to get to see both families and close friends back-to-back. It's also a much needed vacation, as life has been absolutely crazy lately with Geoff's missions, 14-hour days here at home, and countless hours of work on his master's degree each week. I don't know how he does it, and at the same time, I don't know I manage to keep everything balanced here at home. This trip is exactly what we need. I just hope we're both able to relax. I also hope we don't have too many tears leaving the city we both love so much (D.C.) to come back to California.

Anyway, we leave tomorrow for nearly three weeks! SoCal/PA/DC here we come! :)

My first photos

I took a few photos of Sweet PEA in our backyard today. Paige gave me only a couple of minutes to practice before she started to fuss, but I got a couple of cute ones. I have so much to learn!