There's something about celebrating the holidays with a baby that makes them so magically exciting again. Although I continued holiday traditions in my adult life- hanging stockings, watching Home Alone {incessantly}, mass on Christmas Eve- there's just a new excitement that comes with Christmas with a little one.

Four years ago, I woke up out of an emotional fog + decided to make a big change in my life. I was living in California, somewhat lost, in a not-so-fairytale relationship, without my tribe, with no direction whatsoever. Yuck.

Before I knew Madeline's first name, I always knew the one in the middle would be Mae- named after my lovely Nana, Rebecca Mae. The name has always been special to me; beautiful + classic just like the matriarch of our family.

These two have my whole heart, no doubt about it. The past six months with our little family have been the best of my life- full of joy, laughter, smiles, and many lessons learned.

And just like that... Christmas time is here. Time flies when you're raising a tiny human! This month I'm super excited to be collaborating with a favorite local shop of mine, Abigail Fox Designs.

Oh how time flies. It feels like only yesterday we put on our boogie shoes to celebrate my 30th- only a few weeks after finding out we were expecting our little one.

This past weekend we really got into the spirit of the season- pumpkin patch, pumpkin beers, pumpkin loafs... Oh, my! Decorations were brought out of hiding, Maddie donned her Halloween bib {teething=drool, all day 'err day} and we finally got to use those Trick or Treat Roadie cups I've been obsessing over. A trip to the pumpkin patch followed by seasonal treats- brown sugar baked brie, candy corn, and all things pumpkin- made for the perfect autumn day with family and friends.

10.12.15- Exactly two years married and four months since we welcomed Miss Madeline to this world.  The road to this day was both beautiful and trying at times- a year and a half spent hoping, praying, pleading, trying to make her happen.

It has officially been two weeks since we transitioned our little one from my bedside to her nursery- a move I had dreaded since the day she was born. From that first day, I was neurotic about watching her sleep- sometimes placing a fingertip on her little chest to make extra sure she was breathing.

Most nights, my husband will bring me an ice-cold glass of water and place it on my nightstand; and in the morning, he will lay out two Nespresso pods, a Splenda and a mug for my morning coffee. These sweet gestures are two of my favorite things in life- simple signs of "I love you," sure to put a smile on my face. 

The past few weeks have been a learning experience for everyone in this household; with the biggest student, perhaps, being yours truly.  I've learned so much since the birth of my daughter, much of which has completely redefined words I once thought I had understood. 

As I've mentioned before, most of our time this summer has been spent at home, protecting miss Maddie from the heat and all those nasty germs. It's been hard not to get a little stir crazy, particularly when I exhausted the best of Netflix and Hulu during my pregnancy.

Cheers to the freakin' weekend is right. Happy Friday, ya'll. Since bringing the little monkey into the world, I have a new found appreciation for the weekends- most of which have been filled with a few extra hours of sleep, visits from friends + family, a little wine, lots of laughs + and the occasional trip to the nail salon while my husband/superdad watches the little. 

My youngest sister, Erin {Er-Bear, Bear for short}, has impeccable taste- timeless, classic, and effortlessly chic; all at the ripe-old-age of 21. So when it came to my baby shower, it was no surprise when she gave me the most beautifully sentimental present- a Jennifer Meyer nameplate, inscribed with my initials on one side and my daughter's soon-to-be nickname on the other.

Over the past five and a half weeks, things have changed around here.

I've mastered the art of doing almost anything with just one hand...

It's been far too long since I've posted- a little over four months to be exact.  As it turns out, the notion that being home pregnant, essentially on bed rest, would make for a perfect blogging atmosphere proved entirely incorrect.