Making Memories

Saturday marked another first for Charlotte: her first trip to the park! First Stephen and I took her for a stroller ride around the park’s loop and then introduced her to my favorite thing about parks: the swings! And boy oh boy was she a fan! She was a little nervous at first:

But she quickly realized that swinging is a BLAST. 

      

It was so fun to watch her have fun. She just smiled and giggled and squealed with delight and stole my heart all over again. We also let her explore some of the playground equipment:

 

and Stephen took her down the slide: 

  

She was slightly underwhelmed by that experience, but I think it’s because the slide wasn’t straight and therefore it was hard to get any kind of momentum as Stephen slid down. The trip to the park was definitely a success, and we’ll have to take her back when we have another beautiful, sunny Saturday!

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Coming Up In October

Things I’m looking forward to in October:

1. 5:00 p.m. today. And every day this week. Haha.

2. Running in the morning. I was gently encouraged by my husband to get out of bed 30 minutes after my 5:30 alarm, and while it was a struggle of epic proportions to haul myself out of bed (and not just because I’m heavy, thanks so much), I am glad I did it. I got in a solid 25 minutes on dear old dreadmill and plan to repeat that tomorrow. I do have a 4 miler coming up, after all!

3. Getting my hair cut. I have blogged more than once about my hair woes, and I am super excited that on Oct. 21, I am getting a hair makeover! My mom found a salon in Memphis that a few people recommended, and she’s treating me to a hair makeover for my birthday. I am beyond excited and open to anything. (Hopefully the stylist doesn’t think that my new look should involve a mohawk.)

4. Pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks. This is absolutely my favorite Starbucks drink, and I will definitely get one sometime this month.

5. My birthday. The big 3-0. I love my birthday, and this year is no exception. I’m really excited about turning 30 and starting a new phase of life!

6. Having one entire WEEK off of work. Yep, I took off the week right before my birthday. It will be my first true vacation since I started working at the law firm two years ago, and I am giddy just thinking about it!

7. Going to St. Louis with my honey. Stephen and I are taking a little trip to St. Louis the week I am off (he took off work too because he’s awesome), and we are going to have a blast.

8. Three full nights of uninterrupted sleep. We’re leaving Char with Stephen’s parents while we’re in St. Louis, and while I will miss her like crazy and probably feel guilty for leaving her, I am going to LOVE all the hours of sleep I’m going to rack up!

9. Getting Charlotte’s first Halloween costume. My workplace has a Halloween costume contest every year, and I am on the prowl for costumes for Charlotte and me. I thought it would be cute if we went as ladybugs, but all the adult ladybug costumes I’ve found are kind of slutty. Hmm…

10. Wearing sweaters. I love sweaters. They are pretty much my favorite thing to wear, and there is nothing better than snuggling up in a cozy sweater on a cold day and reading a book or watching a movie in front of the fireplace.

This list makes me happy. This month is going to be fantastic!

What are you looking forward to?

Birthday Blessings

Yesterday was my birthday, and I woke up bright and early at 6:02 for my workout. As soon as I left our bedroom, I was greeted by a happy birthday balloon. A couple more were hanging on the bathroom mirror, and then I saw that the whole living room and dining room was decorated in honor of my birthday! What is super sweet about this is the fact that Stephen worked from 8-12:30 a.m. that night and then came home and decorated so I would see it when I got up!

Stephen got up around 7:30 so I could open my presents before work, and he got me some Yankee lavender aromatherapy candles and another present which made me giggle immediately. Let me show you why:

He got me a Snuggie! I will totally use this, even though it looks completely ridiculous. Commence with the mocking if you like. 🙂

After work Stephen surprised me with another gift: Blushing Cherry Blossom perfume from Bath and Body Works. It smells so pretty! He also got me these:

Aren’t they perfect? Then we went to dinner at Red Robin. Stephen had never been, and I got a coupon for a free burger since it was my birthday. I got the Bonzai Burger, which was delicious and enormous, and I ended up not finishing it or my fries. Then we went to Kohl’s to shop because my lovely in-laws gave me a gift card, and I had money from my brother and Stephen’s grandmother. Stephen faithfully accompanied me while I visited pretty much every department of the store. I tried on a bunch of stuff and modeled it all for Stephen, who provided his very helpful feedback for me. I ended up getting a new purse, new boots, several new sweaters, and another water bottle (I know, I know, I have an illness, but it was on clearance for $2.59! Plus I’m getting rid of one that’s not BPA free, so it’s a net gain of zero, really).

After shopping we had ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins, and it has cookies and cream ice cream and chocolate cake and zero calories (haha, just making sure you’re paying attention).

All in all, I had a great day, thanks to my wonderful husband. Even though Stephen doesn’t get very excited about his birthday, he knows I am all about celebrating mine, so he always makes them special. I love you, honey!

Do you get excited about celebrating your birthday?

Friday Five: Things I Love about Fall

Fall is my favorite season, and here’s why:

1. I love the way the leaves change and dot the landscape with bursts of color.

2. I love that I get to wear sweaters and cardigans and hooded sweatshirts.

3. I love the crisp air in the morning and the cooler temperatures.

4. I love the crunch of leaves under my feet.

5. I love sitting in front of the first fire of the season, drinking hot chocolate.

What is your favorite season? What do you love about it?