Time with Family

about a month ago, jason and i headed to the bay area to celebrate a very special life and spend sometime with my mom's side of the family. it was a very quick trip with a little sneak attack trip to SoCal. it is never long enough and every time i realize "this is home!" it fills every pore of my body. i love being in california. i love being with my family. i love being with my friends.

 

we surprised my dad. he thought we were flying in to San Francisco on saturday morning and flying back to NYC on sunday evening. instead we extended our stay for a day and flew down to SoCal with my parents. i not only wanted to spend some more time with my parents but there was a VERY special little girl that had entered the world a few weeks earlier and i could not wait any longer to meet her.

first stop...reuniting with our little man. who is not so little anymore. boy has put on some pounds but still as sweet as pie and adorable as ever.

 

 guess sofie was excited to see her sissy too!

  

a nap with the sweet bulldog duo

 lunch with my grandma & grandpa AND so cool we got to see my aunt, uncle & cousin who were visiting from North Carolina. i miss getting to see them so much!

 another lunch (but didn't really end up eating a second lunch) with J's parents, brother & his gf, Liz in santa monica. more pictures of that soon!

 And then, and then, and then...i have been waiting and waiting and waiting for this moment! meeting ellie jean! FINALLY! i am in love. it was worth every moment i had to wait.

 and getting to see this sweet, gorgeous girl...

 

and this stunning, funny girl were the icing on my already sweet cupcake!

  

 before we left we took the pups to the dog park

 had a very necessary lunch

 

 and play some video games with my dad!

 we won the most tickets you can win on deal or no deal! 400 tickets! awesome!

 who's ready for us to be back in CA?! i am, i am!!

Rewind: A look back

phew. i know i've disappeared again. work has been insane and really life in general has been insane. but, enough of the excuses.

can you believe jason and i have been here for a year? living in new york has changed the both of us immensely. we have learned to really rely on each other. not that we didn't before but now in a different way, we have truly created our family. and being here changes your perspective on life. the things you value. you get a thicker skin...you have to!

this year, jason and i were here for september 11th. living here gives you an entirely different light on that day. hearing the stories of people that were here, in the city 9 years ago is such a humbling experience. i still cannot grasp the horror and terror of that day because i just don't think there is anyway to truly understand how incredibly life shaking that experience was.

we both really wanted to go down to ground zero and remember the lives lost, the families affected and the heroes that so bravely stood out on this history changing day.

 unfortunately, because of all the conflicts and debates over the mosque around ground zero, rather than being a peaceful place filled with respect & remembrance groups protested and screamed at each other. i had to get out of there. it was exactly the opposite of what i was hoping for that day. 

 this bridge was seen consistently the day of 9/11. ambulances racing under it. people walking past it. dust clouds pushing over it.

that night jason and i went up on our rooftop deck to see if we could see the two beams of light. they glowed in the exact spots that the towers used to stand.

it is a day that will be remembered through out history. a day that i see differently now after living in this city.

i promise to be back soon with something lighter. it was important for me to get this down. 

to always remember.

The Baby Cake: Week 8 / Week 9

so i am going to keep this short & sweet. our little raspberry & green olive has been making me SICK. this photo pretty much sums up the last two weeks.

our flight home from california was miserable and has kinda just continued the last couple of weeks. "i have the flu" is only going to fly for so much longer at work! oh i hope this part of my pregnancy passes soon!

The Baby Cake: Week 6 / Week 7

so this week was a BIG week for the baby cake. i had my first doctor's appointment & she confirmed i am pregnant. we had a strong feeling! she also said regardless of my cycle length, the last day of my cycle is the most accurate way to tell the due date. hmmmm....still don't totally agree but we will take it! i get to skip a week! Woooohooo.

so, week 7 the baby cake got announced to some waaaayyyy important people!
mimi & papa
i was so nervous i couldn't say anything.
so jason said "before we go abigail & sebastian got you something!"
my mom said "riiiiiggghhhhtt!"
i said "they actually did"
they unroll their presents & say "oh that's so sweet!"
AND THEN....
it clicks, my mom says "you're pregnant?!"
and then starts jumping up & down screaming "oh my god! oh my god!"
BEST REACTION EVER!

again...i was too flippin' nervous to say anything.
so jason said "we have something for you!"
Andrew (jason's bro) & Elizabeth (his gf) were there too!
they unrolled their onesies...
and andrew said "dude, you're pregnant?"
congratulations & hugs were given and then lots of questions!

after the grandparents were in the know...we made sure the rest of the brothers knew the good news!
i told you...it was a BIG week!

OH and our flight out to california sucked...i got so sick.
i wanted off the airplane so flippin' bad! YUCK!