Niagara Falls

This past weekend we took our very first road trip as a family of three!

We had NO CLUE what Caroline was going to do during the 6 hour drive because she has only ridden in a car a handful of times in her life. 

Needless to say I was terrified--but we didn't let that stop us!

Turns out she quite likes it and slept the majority of the way even when I failed as navigator and took us 40 miles in the wrong direction...whoops.

 

 

The falls were beautiful! They were amazing to see in person.

Of course our conversations immediately turned to "Do you think you could survive if you fell in?" Which led to a google search of "Falling into Niagara Falls survivors" which led to learning about this guy. Ummm crazy, right?

Anywho, it was so refreshing to be out in nature after months without leaving the city.

If we could do it again we would've brought our passports and checked out the Canadian side of the falls...apparently their views are even more spectacular!

"Nap Time"

Nap time for Caroline has been a struggle since day one.

When she was a newborn she literally wouldn't sleep unless she was being held and it was a real chore to get her to fall asleep at all.

We tried everything--rocking, bouncing, jogging, swinging, sushing, singing...you name it.

I let this go on until she hit about 4 months and then decided I had had it.

I needed to do stuff like shower and eat, you know?

Caroline's heyday was over...

The time had come for her to face the dreaded crib.

So we put her in there to let her figure it out.

The funny thing is she didn't really cry...she just played.

We later got a camera so we could see what she was doing in there because I would go in an hour later not knowing if she had slept at all.

This is what we saw:

 

"Oh wow these bar things are super fun."

"Perhaps I can use them to pull myself up."

"What's that thing over there looking at me?"

"Verryyy interesting..."

"Mom, dad, you're not fooling anyone."

 

She's a strange one.

Spring Meanderings

Winter is dragging on and on...and on.

And then, as if out of nowhere, yesterday was 75 (!) degrees and the day before it was 78 (!)

Caroline was born in September so she literally has never experienced such warmth.

The poor thing.

It seems Spring has finally sprung!

Dad came to meet us for lunch at the Hudson River Parkway

First time in a swing=confusion.

Sometimes we joke that C is like a vampire character from Twilight--She is so fair. When she goes into the sun her eyes look white and she shuns in pain, also her skin is so light it is translucent.

A Girl Scout troup was selling cookies so I (naturally) stopped to buy some Thin Mints. The girls were ooing over her saying things like, "Her skin is so soft!" and  "Look at her eyes!" 

Saw this on my run the other night.

That's the truth right there.

We met Ruby in the park yesterday for round two of the baby swings.

They were having the time of their lives ;)

A Kate Spade Mystery...

In early March I received a package in the mail.

My birthday wasn't until the 22nd so I let it sit on the kitchen table for a couple weeks unopened.

I thought for sure it was a birthday present from a punctual family member.

My birthday finally came and it was time to open my present.

I tore open the yellow padded envelope to find a Kate Spade box.

Inside the box was this adorable yellow gold knot bangle.

I LOVE IT!

 

 

It goes quite nicely with my watch from MIL, don't you think?

Anyway I searched for a card, a note, anything to tell me who send this gift.

Nothing.

I called all my family members and asked a few friends...anyone I thought of who could have sent it.

Nothing!

It remains a mystery!

The strangest thing is that the return address on the package was from 'NY Lingerie in Hobron, KY'.

Ummm what?

I googled the exact address and I kid you not--there is nothing there. 

Like...it is an empty field.

And the store 'NY Lingerie' doesn't sell Kate Spade Bracelets?!

I even unsuccessfully tried tracking the package.

I can think of a few possible explanations:

1) I accidentally bought this for myself while shopping online...unlikely but I wouldln't put it past me.

2) It is from someone really obvious who is waiting patiently for a thank you note and I'm going to feel really bad when I figure it out.

3) I have a secret admirer.

Nameless birthday present gifter...If you're out there show yourself!

I just want to say 'Thank You!' and solve this birthday mystery!!!

Rise and Shout

A few of my favorite things came together yesterday for one of the most memorable nights we've had here in the city.

BYU+iconic NYC venue+KFC+Tuesday night date night=YES PLEASE!!!

I am a BYU cougar through and through so when we learned the cougs would be coming to play in the NIT tournament at Madison Square Garden we were all in.

Ty got off work early, we hired a sitter, and we were off!

It felt like in a weird way we had come full circle, being there at the game.

Less than two years ago we were sitting in the student section with painted faces cheering like the loud fools we were.

(Well, I would cheer and Ty would look embarrassed for me).

Last night we were watching the game as alumni in a city far from campus with our baby asleep back in our apartment.

I had a creepy proud smile as I stood up and sang the cougar fight song, all hand gestures included. 

Ty--still embarrassed.

I guess some things will never change.

 

It was my first time at The Garden so that was a fun experience.

I loved thinking about all of the famous people who frequent the stadium and all of the big events that have taken place there....Namely Justin Bieber concerts.

Right in the action.

 

SOOOOO they lost.

They tend to do that to you in situations like this.

To lesson the blow we stopped at KFC in Penn Station before heading home.

No pictures...maybe that's on purpose because anyone who saw the underground train station food establishment where we ate would say, "You ate there?!"

But also anyone who knows the Baldwins knows that places like KFC, Chik-fil-A, and Wendy's are kind of our thing so sorry I'm not sorry.

Go Cougs!

Easter Sunday

 Easter was a great day for us--the first in a long time that Ty had zero work to do.

That in itself was reason to celebrate.

The Reese's Eggs and Starburst Jelly Beans were just icing on the cake.

Happy Easter peeps!

(heh)

 

ANNND We're Back...

I'm not going to attempt to play catch up...That would just be too overwhelming for everyone involved.

But I would like to get back into the swing of things.

Now that Caroline is 6 (!) months old, I feel like I am back to my old human self and can now perform normal adult-like tasks such as showering on a regular basis and maybe even throwing in a blog post here and there.

Can't hurt, right?

Something else that made me feel human lately was when my mom and sister came into town this past weekend.

It was my birthday and to celebrate we decided to run a half marathon???

Not much of celebration-- more like birthday torture but it was actually fun and was a great way to get back into shape after being pregnant for 9 months.

 

Note to self: don't try to act like a champ and blow past all 12 water stops without a drink bc you will get dehydtrated and feel like dying for the next 24 hours.

 

On my birthday we went to eat at a yummy restaurant called Bar Pitti in the West Village.

 Bar Pitti has amazing authentic Italian food and was the perfect place for a pre-race carbo load/birthday dinner.

 

Tip: get the burrata for an appetizer. Oh and talk to the waiters as much as possible bc they are all straight up Italian and have legit accents.

 

We also went to check out the Macy's Flower Show and I took ONE awesome pic to capture the beauty of it all:

 

 

Sigh.

I need to work on that.

We went inside to Macy's shoe department and stayed for like 2 hours on just that floor alone.

Caroline enjoyed it all too.

 

She's a pretty good shopping companion.

 

Mom, Maren....COME BACK!!!

 

Blessing

On November 25, 2012 Sweet Caroline was blessed by her daddy in Raleigh, North Carolina.

 

 

Gramy Jodi made her pretty dress.

 

 

Great-Grandma Doris Maybelle made her litte bonnet.

 

 

 

Caroline got to meet some of her cousins for the first time.

11 out of 23 (!) nieces and nephews from the Baldwin side were there.

 

 

Caroline's cousin Kat is only 4 months older.

They had fun staring at each other all weekend and I think they will be best friends someday : )

Month Two

Since Caroine is almost three months old I figure I'd better write about her hitting the two month mark.

 

The biggest milestone she reached during the second month was that she began to smile for reals.

I don't know why but it feels like we've won an olympic gold medal every time we get her to look us in the eye and give us a big grin.

On that note, it's funny how much your interests change when you become parents.

We used to find enjoyment in eating at new fun restaurants and seeing old friends.

Starting when we brought her home from the hospital we have found pure delight in this girl's dirty diapers.

Sick, right?

The first few days she was home we would literally cheer when she had gone #2.

That has faded, but only slightly.

I still tell her 'good job' every time she goes.

Just think of our pride when she graduates from college...

 

 

She is still pretty needy and wants to be held for the majority of the day.

It's ok though because I'd rather be inside snuggling with my babe than doing pretty much anything else I can think of!

 

 

When we went to her two month check up she was a whopping 12 pounds 1 ounce. That puts her in the 85% for weight.

She is a healthy, happy, beast of a baby and she is awesome.

 

 

 

I hope her eyes stay blue like her dad's!

 

hibernation

I have kind of been in hibernation for the past 6 weeks.

When Caroline was born it still felt like summer and now that I'm starting to get out of the cave more I realize I pretty much missed fall and now winter is well on its' way.

Today I had to whip out the trusty old puffer coat...it is THAT cold outside!

 

 

Since baby picks and chooses which days she will sleep in her stroller, this is how I end up doing my grocery shopping.

I basically feel like I'm pregnant all over again, carrying her around on my torso like this.

I decided I'm having my groceries delivered from now on bc my arms were about to fall off when I got home from this particlar excursion. 

 

Caroline went to church for the first time yesterday.

When she woke up and wasn't in her familiar environment she was looking around like crazy, overwhelmed with all the people.

It was funny/cute.

 

I love her little baby feet, especially when they have little baby mary-jane socks on them.

 

Babies nom nom nom

 

SANDY

Crazy this is the SECOND hurricane we've experienced since moving to NYC.

The first one didn't affect the city much despite subway closures and lots of freaking out.

Sandy has been another story!

On Sunday we were basically kicked out of our apartment because we live in the 'Evacuation A Zone.' 

Have you ever thought about what you would pack if you had to leave your home with only your most precious belongings?

THAT HAPPENED.

 

But all we really took was our toothbrushes, baby stuff, and clean underwear. 

(Actually Ty forgot his clean underwear but that's a story for another day...)

I guess we don't have that many precious things.

We walked to the subway before it shut down for Caroline's first public transportation experience.

 

 

I was really nervous she'd be scared of all the people and loud sounds but of course she slept peacefully the entire time : )

 

 

Caroline also had her first experience in Times Square and despite all the noise and crazies walking around...still asleep!

It was fun to be in our hotel room and see the view...Caroline liked it too once she finally woke up.

 

 

We are still safe and sound hanging out in our hotel feeling pretty blessed to not have lost power or had any other problems. Our apartment building is in an area that was flooded pretty badly but there was no damage done to our actual apartment.

Thoughts/prayers/good vibes going out to all of those who are in distress because of this crazy disaster of a storm!