Prague

Family picture in Prague.

Traveling with a baby is possible! This is great news considering we'll be living in Europe for awhile. Penelope will be a world traveler by the age of two!

While my aunt and uncle were visiting, they took us to Prague. What a treat. It was only for the weekend, but that was plenty of time with baby in tow. It was so nice to have the extra help for our first family trip.

Other elements made the trip successful as well. Right as I was about to pack up the car, Devon came home with gifts for baby! The Cooke Family sent her a collapsible tent, and a travel-size lamb. She already has the big lamb for her crib, and she loves it. This travel lamb was going to be perfect for our first vacation. It makes four different sounds: rain, whales, ocean, and stream. We think her favorite is the ocean... These gifts came at just the right time. We were going to take her travel bassinet, but the tent is so much lighter-it can fit into our suitcase! That's a HUGE plus. Thanks to the Cookes!

Look how little Penelope is on this bed!

Sleeping with her travel lamb.

Check out this sweet tent!

Penelope was such a good little girl! On the 3 hour car ride she slept most of the way, and we only needed to stop once to feed her. While in the city, we all took turns pushing her in the stroller. The streets were crowded, and sometimes it was difficult to maneuver, but we made it work. We were so happy that our stroller has big air tires. Otherwise, it would have been a very bumpy ride for Penelope. The only time she fussed was when she needed to eat or have her diaper changed. This made seeing the sights of Prague quite enjoyable. It's such a beautiful city.

Uncle Ali tests out the stroller.

A short break to feed P.

Just one of the many churches in the city.

Our view while we fed baby.

This trip was great practice for our future endeavors. This November we plan on heading to Berlin, and for Christmas we're heading to Michigan.

 Some more pictures for your viewing pleasure...

Good looking people.

Again, a good looking bunch.

Yes, that's beer. Drinking and driving?

Me and P. Exploring Prague's castle.

Locks. When the people marry they put a lock up with their wedding date, then throw the key in the river.

Bound together forever. So sweet.

Gorgeous.

Also, gorgeous.

Family nap.

Getting ready to go to dinner.

Baby in her Bjorn. We can't forget the travel lamb!

A Visit From The Razavis...

My Aunt Lynn and Uncle Ali came for a visit. The two of them were anxious to meet Miss Penelope, and yes, they fought over who could hold her first. Thankfully, it was a short fight-Aunt Lynn won.

Aunt Lynn meeting Penelope for the first time!

Uncle Ali checks out our house while he waits to hold Penelope.

Now it's his turn.

He's so happy!

The entire week Devon, Penelope, and I were spoiled. Aunt Lynn took on late night feedings so that Devon and I could get some rest, while Uncle Ali made sure we were fed. He cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner(except when we went out to eat). I was so happy to smell bacon the first morning they were here. That definitely made me smile! And of course, they both spent lots of time loving on P. She didn't sit in her swing or vibrating chair once while they were here, she was always held by someone.

  

Aunt Lynn insisted that we bring down the rocking chair.

Penelope in her new outfit from Aunt Lynn and Uncle Ali.

Sleeping on Uncle Ali's belly. 

 Time to change your diaper.

Say cheese.

During their week stay, we were able to show them a little bit of army life by taking them on post. They were able to see the PX(similar to a Walmart), the Commissary(grocery store), the food court, and a short car tour of the surrounding shops. That's all there really is to see, nothing too exciting, but I'm so glad that we took them because they were generous enough to buy groceries, not once, but twice during the week! I love having a well stocked refrigerator.

 The boys bringing the groceries inside.

Daddy and Nellie before he heads back to work.

How many people does it take to change a baby?

She's so cute!

A hug for baby.

Aunt Lynn and Nellie nap after a long night.

While they were here, they were able to do some traveling. I was worried that they would be couped up in the house bored, but they drove to Prague, Czech Republic and Nuremberg, Germany. Both are very close to our house.

We were sad to see them to leave. Penelope is going to miss sleeping on Uncle Ali's belly, and Devon and I will miss sleeping through the night.

See you guys in December!

The morning Aunt Lynn and Uncle Ali left-still in our pjs.

Penelope's Nursery

Penelope's nursery is finally complete! This has been an ongoing project, and now that's she's been with us for over 3 weeks she can enjoy it.

I swear we are not bad parents. We ordered her furniture from Restoration Hardware (http://www.rhbabyandchild.com/) back in April! Of course, the changing table was back ordered so we didn't get any of the purchased items until June. Everything was shipped to Devon's parent's place in Brighton. While visiting family over the summer, I had a moving company come on July 8 to pick everything up and put it on a boat to Germany. It took over a month to get to the Deutschland, and 3 weeks to get out of customs. It didn't make it to our house until after P was born. That's a total of 5 months! The timing of it all would have been perfect if Penelope was born on her estimated due date-September 21, but as we all know she was 5 days early.

When we came from the hospital, the last thing I wanted to deal with was putting together furniture. Thankfully, we had help. Two of my girlfriends, Meredith and Abi, came over to help. We were stumped by some of the instructions, but it all worked out in the end.

Below are pictures of her nursery as a work in progress, and the final product. Enjoy...



Take note of the height of Meredith and the crib...hilarious!

Almost complete!



All done!



Another view.





Changing table and dresser-all in one!

This girl has more clothes than Mom.

I don't have pictures of Nellie in her nursery yet. I will post some up soon!



Lovey Duds

Penelope loves her Lovey Duds wrap. It's just like the Moby Wrap, but MUCH cuter! It took practice to learn how to use it, but I'm so glad I figured it out. The first time we tested it out, she fell asleepfor 2 hours! It's great for her because she gets to be held, and I love it because I'm able to get house work done, while keeping an eye on her. Below are some pictures of her snug as bug in a rug.

LOST

We're obsessed with this show! It's actually becoming annoying how we get nothing accomplished during the day because all we want to do is watch another episode. My sister and brother-in-law sent us the entire series to help occupy our time during those late night feedings. A great idea, except now all Devon can think about is what's going to happen next. Devon always throws around possible ideas of what’s to come, while I cover my ears and ignore his theories because I like to be surprised. We are currently on season 5(only one season left-thank goodness). Yesterday, we stayed home and watched 8 episodes (pathetic, I know) - only pausing for feedings, potty breaks, diaper changes, and dinner!

Dad and Penelope watching Lost

Since my aunt and uncle fly in tomorrow afternoon, I made a new rule. We can't watch any episodes today, until the house is clean. So Devon is upstairs vacuuming, and baby and I are taking a break to write this blog. I’ll be joining him soon, as we are determined to finish this season.

When we are not watching Lost, we usually just hang around the house. We are still trying to adjust to Penelope’s schedule. She’s a growing baby so all she really does is eat, sleep, and poop. When she doesn’t need to be fed or changed, we try to get things done while she sleeps. Below are some pictures of Devon ironing my dad’s flag while Nellie is passed out on the couch.

We used all of our dining chairs to make sure the flag didn't touch the ground!



Sleeping in her new PJs from Aunt Lorri.