Charlie's First Birthday Party

As I mentioned yesterday, we spent this past weekend in St. Petersburg to celebrate our nephew Charlie's first birthday party. Today is his actual birthday, so happy birthday, Charlie!

As you may recall, Charlie was born 10 weeks early and weighed three pounds at birth. He spent over a month in the NICU but since then, he has really grown and is doing so well. Just by sake of being our nephew, we already adore Charlie, but given his unexpected early arrival we were especially excited to celebrate this milestone with him, and with his parents. I can attest that the first year of parenthood is difficult under any circumstances, but I'm certain that having the stress of a premature delivery and NICU stay and all that accompanies that adds more of a challenge than I can imagine. I said on Ellie's birthday that I really feel the first birthday is a time to celebrate the parents for having made it through one year, and I know Ronnie and Stephanie are putting quite a year behind them. Congratulations to them for making it through, and with a healthy, happy, handsome little man to show for it!

We left for St. Pete as soon as we got up and moving on Saturday, which got us to my dad's house just in time for some lunch and a (short and much-protested) nap for Ellie before the party. The party was held at Largo Central Park, and it was a gorgeous day for a party in the park! The pavilions were adorned with red, yellow and black balloons to match the Mickey Mouse theme, and there was one balloon for each day Charlie was in the NICU. There were two tables stacked high with presents, plenty of food to go around and awesome goodie bags for the kids (the contents of which kept Ellie entertained on our drive back to Jacksonville the following day, so thanks to Ronnie and Stephanie for that!).

The pavilions all decked out for the party

Lots of gifts for Charlie!

Upon our arrival, we said our hellos to family, and the birthday boy himself. He seemed so much bigger just since we saw him last month!

He reached for me right away and made my day!

Ellie made herself right at home on her Great-Gramz's lap

Charlie and his Uncle Eric

Fun times with family!

The first Saturday of every month, Largo Central Park gives free train rides to the kids, and Ronnie and Stephanie chose this date for the party for that reason. So, right away Ellie and I went off to ride the train along with Eric's sister Kelley and Charlie. The ride was much longer and considerably more delightful than I expected, although the kids seemed unimpressed. Hey, at least the adults liked it. Actually, I do think Charlie enjoyed it, because he was happy as a clam through the entire ride except for when the train slowed down or stopped, and then he would fuss. Apparently that boy has a real need for speed.

On the train with Kelley and Charlie!

They're totally loving it.

After the train ride we did a little eating and visiting, and Ellie wandered all over the place (often with balloons in tow).

Ellie and Aunt Kelley off for a walk

Hanging out with her Nonnie

More fun with Auntie Kelley (and balloons, of course)

Walking with Great-Gramz

Apparently, Ellie really enjoys walking around with her Great-Gramz at birthday parties:

At her own birthday party in March on the left, and at Charlie's on the right!

Then, it was time for the cupcake smashing. We all sang to Charlie and then he went to work on a couple of cupcakes. Once again, my cake-phobic child was put to shame. These kids know how to eat cake!

Blowing out the candle!

Charlie and his proud parents

Cupcake smash

It may make me a terrible aunt, but all I can think of when I look at this adorable frosting-faced picture of my handsome nephew is, "why so serious?"

Charlie and his daddy

By that time, things were winding down a little bit and some people had to get going, including my mother-in-law Toni. Before she left, we made sure to get a nice photo of her, Gramz, and the kids and grandkids. After her stroke in 2009 every event like this just reminds me how lucky we are to still have her around so she can be a part of these great family events. I know it means the world to her, and it does to us, too.

Love these people!

Then it was time for presents. Charlie received a lot of great gifts, including lots of toys and clothes. He got a toy dump truck and book from Ellie and a walker, Yankees book and birth record cross-stitch from us. I made the birth record for Charlie, and spent a ton of time on it. In fact, I had planned for it to be his Christmas gift, but needless to say, I didn't quite get it done in time! It meant a lot to me to make something for my little nephew, and I'm glad that his parents seemed to like it. We just love that little guy, and that was the best way I could think of to show it!

Opening gifts with his mommy

Opening the birth record

The birth record. I wish I had taken a better picture of it, but I did snap this pic with my iPhone after having it framed.

After presents, we just kind of hung out for a bit longer and snapped some pictures of the cousins in the grass. One of them was more excited about this activity than the other.

The cousins

Ellie: "WAAAAAAH, THIS IS SO AWFUL!"

Charlie: "LOL!"

"Girls! Am I right? Always with the drama!"

Charlie may have been having flashbacks to Christmas...

"Hey, cousin, what's the matter?"

"There, there. I will dry your tears."

Look at these babies with blues!

And that wrapped up Charlie's birthday party! We had such a nice time celebrating with family. Once again, I have to say that this is definitely the one positive aspect of living in Florida that New York just can't beat. I imagine that even if we had still been in New York, we would've done everything we could to fly down for this party, but to be able to be so close and have there be no question that we can be there is a really nice thing. I'm especially thankful to be able to give Ellie the opportunity to form bonds with her extended family, and I can tell she's doing just that.

We were so happy to celebrate this little guy. We love him to pieces. Happy birthday, Charlie!

The birthday boy!

Balloons

This weekend we went back down to St. Pete for our nephew Charlie's first birthday party, which was a lot of fun and I'll share more about that a bit later.

At the party, they had lots of balloons, the significance of which I will also share in my full birthday party recap. But, Ellie loved the balloons. LOVED. She wanted to punch them and carry them around and they made her giggle.

The other kids loved the balloons, too, and as the party wore on one little boy was playing with a few balloons when one popped. It made the loud bursting noise that popping balloons always make, of course - a noise that I would expect to startle children. Heck, I'm 31 years old and I hate popping balloons. I don't like to startle like that. I can't even open those dinner/breakfast rolls that come in the cans that pop as you unwrap their paper. And opening champagne? No way, no how. I can't handle the sudden startle, or the suspense leading up to it. I don't presume to be known for my bravery, that's for sure.

My kid, however, not only was unfazed by that popped balloon, but she immediately signed for "more." "More popping balloons, please. Scare me again!"

And I feel like in that one anecdote, I'm able to sum up Ellie's personality. I shouldn't have been surprised that she wanted more balloons to pop, because that's just who she is. She's fearless and spirited and inquisitive. She would love the sound of balloons popping.

It's just another example of how she is so entirely my opposite in so many ways, and I just adore her for it.

I love that crazy kid.

1998

Today marks 15 years since Eric and I first became boyfriend and girlfriend. Fifteen years.

Last year on this anniversary, I recounted how we met and how we actually came to be "Meghan and Eric." I even shared old love letters and moderately embarrassing pictures of 16-year-old me.

Fifteen years ago, I had just turned 16 years old. I was a junior in high school, in honors classes, with short hair and braces, and was a member of the marching band. (Read: nerd.) Eric was a 125-pound 15-year-old high school sophomore with nice abs. He was in an advanced math and science program at his high school, ran cross-country and played football. (Read: some sort of weird cool guy/nerd hybrid.) I stalked him from afar until he finally realized that I am awesome and we became a couple. That was September 7, 1998.

"Our song" was "God Must've Spent a Little More Time on You" by 'N Sync. It was 1998, and 'N Sync was the new hot boy band.

Our first dance was to All-4-One's "I Swear," which I had recorded off the radio onto my mixed-tape using my "sound system" (or rather, my glorified boombox). It was 1998, and there was no such thing as iTunes yet.

Because we were both too young to drive, we had to have our parents drive us to and from our dates. We sat in the backseat, with our hands next to each other on the middle seat so our pinkies touched. We were too nervous to actually hold hands. It was 1998, and we were just kids.

I took Eric to my homecoming dance that year, and I wore Titanic-inspired jewelry. It went really well with the Leonardo DiCaprio Titanic posters adorning my bedroom walls. It was 1998, and I had seen Titanic in the theater eight times. I am not ashamed.

On our dates, I wore crop tops and jean shorts.

The first movie we ever saw together was Ever After.

Neither of us had cell phones, nor would we get them for a couple of years yet.

Our entire beginning was just so 1998.

And I love it.

I love that so many of our memories are "dated." I love that those memories so clearly reflect how long it has been since we first met and began our relationship. I love that it is so easy to see how far we have come and how times have changed, just in the years since we met.

Since our beginning in 1998, life has happened. We dealt with the ups and downs of typical high school drama. We went through the college application process and celebrated graduations. There were proms and homecomings, some with each other and some with other people. There was college, where we struggled at first but ultimately ended up together and more in love than ever. There were deaths of grandparents and friends. There were family crises, including Eric's mother's stroke. We moved together to four different states. We both went to grad school. We got married and made beautiful memories of our wedding day to cherish. There was lots of travel and endlessly exciting new experiences, all of which we enjoyed together. We had the most beautiful baby girl in the world. We laughed, we cried, we struggled, we excelled. Through it all, we loved each other unwaveringly.

When Eric asked me to be his girlfriend 15 years ago today, I was very excited and couldn't wait to see what our relationship would be like. I don't know that I ever could have imagined it would be this great, 15 years later (so many years later, in fact, that the "hot new boy band" that provided our song has already broken up and reunited again). My 16-year-old self was so happy, but I didn't realize that it was only the beginning, only a drop in the bucket of happiness that I had ahead of me in my life with Eric. I had no way to comprehend the depth of the love we would share, through all that life threw at us, through thick and thin, till death do us part. I'm just glad that my 16-year-old self saw the potential one way or another and made the very good decision to say "yes" when that hot boy from the pool asked her to be his girlfriend (as if there was any other answer to give).

Thank you, Eric, for making that young girl's dreams come true and then some. And then lots, actually. I can't imagine a life without you in it and I am so lucky to have shared the last 15 years with you. I love you, always and forever.

Our first dance, summer 1998. Not pictured: my boombox playing All-4-One on that mixed tape.

A Morning in St. Augustine

Our Labor Day weekend was pretty quiet. Eric's football game got called for lightning on Friday night, so they had to finish it up Saturday afternoon (and they won, 25-14!). Monday he had practice in the morning and then Ellie slept the day away, spoiling our plans for a late afternoon beach trip. But Sunday, we were able to go have some family fun.

We decided to spend the morning in St. Augustine, which is about 25 minutes south of us. I had been to St. Augustine once before, many moons ago with my dad and sister. I didn't remember much about it, but I remembered I liked it so much that I actually considered going to Flagler College there, just because I was enchanted with the little town. Ultimately, I can't say I regret my choice to go to the University of Florida instead (my student loan balance isn't upset I went public instead of private, either), but I was still excited for the opportunity to get back to St. Augustine.

And so, off we went. It was just a quick visit, and we do plan to go back again later to do more exploring. On this trip, we just saw two major sites: the Castillo de San Marcos and St. George Street.

We parked at the fort and went there first. We wandered through the rooms and up to the top of the fort, reading our guided tour as we went. 

Welcome to the Castillo de San Marcos!

Ready for some fort fun

The world's most comfortable beds

Heading up to the top

Atop the fort

Apparently this is the place to be if you are a bird of St. Augustine.

Cannons

The fort walls looking out over the bay

We were also just in time to catch a cannon demonstration. Eric stayed close and recorded it while I took Ellie further back and helped her cover her ears. She barely startled at all when the cannon went off; she was far more excited about the birds flying away than the loud noise. Crazy kid.

Volunteers/Park Staff heading upstairs to fire a cannon

Cannon demonstration

VIDEO: The cannon demonstration at the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine

Ellie is super impressed.

After the cannon-firing, we did a little more fort exploration.

Ellie and Eric

Watching birds

Looking across the fort to the cannon

Cannonballs

Then we left the fort and went across the street to St. George Street, which is a stretch of shops and restaurants in restored old houses. We didn't do much shopping, aside from one children's shop with a rather large stuffed Elmo that struck Ellie's fancy. We also stopped for ice cream - Ellie's first taste of ice cream with sprinkles, which she loved!

St. George Street

The oldest wooden school house in the U.S.

This gate was once the only entrance point to the north side of St. Augustine

Giant Elmo!

Ice cream!

Signing for "more ice cream!"

We also walked out to the Bridge of Lions, which afforded us a nice view of St. Augustine and a different perspective for the next cannon demonstration.

Bridge of Lions

Another cannon fired, as seen from the Bridge of Lions

By then we had a pretty sleepy baby on our hands, so we decided to wrap things up and head back home to get Ellie down for a nap.

All this history is exhausting.

So, it was a quick trip but a very nice way to spend our morning, and the highlight of our Labor Day weekend! I'm looking forward to exploring more of St. Augustine soon!

Girl Time in Jacksonville

Last week, my sister Heather had a couple of consecutive days off and she decided to use them to come up for a little visit. I was so excited to have her here, to show off our new place and to have someone to hang out with while Eric was working during the week. One can only push the Cozy Coupe around on the patio so many times before going a little stir-crazy, you know? I was thankful for the break in our regular routine!

Heather arrived while Ellie was "napping" on Tuesday. Or rather, Ellie was refusing to nap. We were in the process of weaning from her naptime nursing session and it was not going super great. So, Heather helped me stay sane until we decided Ellie officially was not going to nap. Then we got her up, had some lunch and decided to hit the pool.

The pool went much better this time as opposed to the last time when I took Ellie by myself. She seemed to get the hang of walking through the kiddie pool a little better so there were actually no underwater faceplants, which I consider a win. She also was a big fan of the steps up to the bathrooms, which was fun and relaxing for all involved. She did love playing in the pool with Auntie Heather, though!

Raiding Auntie Heather's beach bag

Splash, splash!

Ellie and her Auntie in the kiddie pool

Coolest kid around!

Splashing with Mama!

Love this picture. Love these girls.

That evening, after Ellie was in bed, I made some blackened salmon, rice and corn for dinner and then we drank wine and watched some TV, including the first episode of this season of Dexter, because I AM SO BEHIND. I am ashamed of the state of my Dexter watching this season. I'm frantically trying to catch up now!

On Wednesday, Ellie slept in a bit. When she woke up, we kicked off the morning by doing some reading with Auntie Heather.

She is currently obsessed with her Corduroy lift-the-flap books.

Achilles had to get in on the action!

Then we had breakfast and headed out to the beach. I was excited to show off our beach to Heather, as she is quite the fellow beach bum. Because it was early, the beach was largely deserted and Ellie could chase all the birds her little heart desired. We also played in the sand, looked for seashells, and splashed in the waves.

Chasing birds!

Wet sand is squishy!

Whoa, waves!

Looking for shells with Auntie Heather

Checking out the ocean

She had to step aside to take an important call.

What a beach babe.

My best girls!

We even had a little light lunch on the beach before calling it a day. We ended up spending about two hours there, and it was so nice. I can't ever say a trip to the beach with Ellie is relaxing, exactly, but we had a really nice morning.

When we got back home I put Ellie down for a nap, which she actually took - the first nap she's taken without me nursing her in a very, very long time. Such a grown-up!

When she woke up, we took Heather to see our usual walking path and showed her our turtle lake. Eric left practice early and brought home some pizza for dinner, which Ellie particularly enjoyed. Then it was off to bed for the little one.

Heather agreed to stick around that night to stay home with Ellie while Eric and I went to pick up OUR NEW CAR! Yes, we bought a car, so my days of being stranded at home during the week are over. THANK GOODNESS. I'll share more about the new car in a later post, but I owe Heather many thanks for sticking around so late so we could get that done, because it took FOREVER. It would have been a nightmare to try to do all of that paperwork with Ellie in tow, so she made our lives much, much easier. And, she cleaned up the apartment. BEST SISTER EVER.

When we got back with our new car, Heather hit the road. It was so nice to have her here, and I hope she'll be back soon! As any of you who are friends with me on Facebook or follow me on Instagram may have seen, Heather was just offered a contract with Tokyo Disney. She'll be off to Japan to perform in their Big Band Beat show starting in February, and the contract runs through September. I'm going to miss her like crazy when she leaves, especially now after having gotten spoiled by living so close to her for the first time in nearly a decade, but I'm so excited for her. What an adventure! And, it gives Eric and me a reason to finally plan that Asia vacation he's been pushing for for years now. Way to go, Heather!

So, I hope we're able to fit in quite a few more visits like this before Heather leaves. Thanks so much for coming, Heather! We loved having you!

Bubbles

Last week Ellie and I happened to find a bubble machine on clearance at Target. I had considered getting her one a while back, because she loved playing with regular bubbles over the summer. But, by "playing with regular bubbles," I actually mean "frantically signing 'more' as Mama nearly hyperventilated, trying to blow bubbles fast enough to keep up." So, I figured a bubble machine might be a good buy. Stick some AAs in that bad boy and I don't have to worry about passing out anymore.

Well, the bubble machine was a hit. As expected, Ellie loved it. But not just loved it, she LOVED it. In fact, when I look at the picture below, all I can think of is the conversation Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen had at the playground in Knocked Up. Basically, "kids go apeshit over bubbles."

"I wish I liked anything as much as my kids like bubbles."

It is so much fun to watch Ellie be so delighted over something so simple. Needless to say, I returned to Target ASAP to stock up on THE BIG BOTTLE of clearance bubble solution. I see hours of bubbly joy in our future!