bvt.

Last weekend we spent three days up north. WAYYYYYY up north in Mommy's old stomping grounds. It was the big introduction of Max to all of my college friends. Something I had been so excited to do. I miss them terribly and a part of me misses that life terribly but that only makes going to visit even more exciting. I had seen everyone about a month before for Corey and Lindsey's wedding but this time mommy was coming with baby. The thought of spending 4 hours in the car with a 5 month old was scary to say the least. Was she going to sleep the whole way? Was I going to have to stop and nurse her? Would I be able to make it without peeing? This last one scared me the most because if I stopped to pee it would set off a pretty lengthy chain of events which would include having to stop the car, take Max out of the car, pee, change her, probably feed her, burp her, probably change her again and probably have to change her clothes too because she ALWAYS pukes the second you put her in the car seat! But no matter what I was ready for this adventure and ready for some serious time with some of my best and oldest friends. The ride to say the least was LONG but we made it, no pee breaks (although it was REALLY a close call for me) and Max slept for almost the entire ride. I would like to pat myself on the back for the awesome timing I had though by getting her in the car right at nap time. It was a pretty successful start to what ended up being a very successful weekend.

The oldest and the youngest of the "crew" children

I spent two of the three days with Jenny and her girls - 4 people that I love to death. I wish they were my next door neighbors for so many reasons but that will be for another time and place. But we managed to fit in some lovely time shopping downtown and a "crew" dinner (dress code=sweatpants=my kind of party).  The shopping experience on Church Street was a bit different than it would have been a few years ago considering the fact we now come complete with three strollers and 5 children - yes we were a serious site to see - but we rocked it!On Sunday I packed Max up and got ready to hit the road but not before taking Lily over to her dad's house- Dad being Nemo- one of my most favorites people in the world. I wasn't ready to leave Lily quite yet, especially because her and Max had become quite inseparable over the three days. I know that sounds crazy because Max is 5 months old but she would just light up anytime Lily walked in the room. So after some legos, a corn maze and a home cooked me we decided our weekend in VT would last one more night and we would hit the road in the morning. Looking back now I realize this was absolutely the best idea because there was no way Max was sleeping in the car for 4 hours then going back to bed when we got home if we left at 6PM, I would like to call this a good call on Mommy's part! I also realized upon our arrival at home this was probably the first time EVER I had spent that long in VT and I remembered the entire weekend, I didn't require McDonalds to cure a hangover and I wasn't wearing sweatpants or on the verge of death for the entire ride home. Holy grown up!

Have you ever tried to get 4 kids to sit still for a photo? This is the best you will get <3 PRICELESS

5 months.

It is that time again. Time to reflect on how damn quickly time passes - seriously how do I slow this down? I feel like I blink and here we are again... setting up the same corner of the couch with the same white blanket, stripping Maxie down to her diaper and playing around with the camera to get a couple good monthly photo shots. Who am I kidding though, it might be passing quickly but I wouldn't change a second of it for the world. I actually sort of look forward to these little sessions because it keeps me busy all night after (as if having a baby and a full time job and living with your boyfriend isn't enough to stay busy all night). I could sit and stare at the pictures starting and one month and going forward for hours. The changes in this little baby (who is not so little anymore) are just so dynamic and amazing. She can hold her own for the most part in the same couch corner every time I prop her there and I swear she is actually getting to know that when Mommy has that big camera thingy up at her face she needs to sit, smile and look pretty. Could she be anymore of my daughter? What a ham!

Poop!

Warning the next post is not going to be nice. Well it will be nice but it will not be about nice things. It is going to be about poop. Yup - that is right poop. Seriously I would have never thought that a life could revolve so much about poop as it does after you have a child... I am not sure exactly how many times a day I discuss poop but I am sure, actually 100% positive that it is waaaaaaaaay more than the average person. I bet some people actually go an entire day maybe even days at a time without ever having a discussion about poop. Now, I swear, most of the time it is one of the first topics that comes to my mind and is almost always one of the first conversations I have. "How was that diaper, was there poop?" If there was poop "What was it like, was it an explosion? Did it smell" What color was it?" And those are the tame ones that now just roll off my back like there is nothing to it.  Poop sort of makes this life go around now, has she pooped today, has she pooped enough, was there anything weird in the poop (which is weird in itself because there is obviously weird things in poop it is digested food) was it runny or thick... yup all every day conversations at 127 Pennsylvania Ave now. But the weirdest part about all of this poop talk is that it just sort of comes out naturally now, it isn't weird and I think the weird thing would be not having a conversation revolving around poop at 5:30 in the morning before starting my day or having coffee. A babies poo apparently tells a lot about the baby and with that being the case our little Max has a lot to tell us about.

Just for a little extra fun - here is a nifty little poop chart in case you were curious about just how telling a babies poo could be: Baby Poo Guide . Warning there are real poo pictures in that link. Not Max's either which means you probably won't find them that cute!

apples.

Apple picking in September is a tradition. It is a tradition that my Ma, Pa and sister have had for

years now. I don't remember when it started and I am sure the first few times we went Brit and I probably thought it was uncool and that there were better things to be doing but now it is one of my most favorite days of the year. What is not to love about a gorgeous fall day, sun shining, crisp air blowing and all the apples you can eat - that is right NOTHING! It is perfect. It is a perfect day that I can't wait to share with Max in the years to come. Well technically I did share it with her this year but she wasn't quite old enough to remember it and she sort of slept through most of it... but that is why we took so many pictures so we can remind her in the years to come that she has been apple picking since before she could walk. I can already see me throwing that out there in 13 years when she is too cool for school and would rather be painting her nails and talking on the phone with her friend that is a boy... what a glorious thought...