the first week with my baby elephant

    

Romeo has brought Zan and I so much joy and filled our hearts with the most amazing love. It's been a surreal experience with tears of excitement but also exhaustion. The first week was hard for me... My life had changed so much in just twenty-five hours. Everyone told me that having a baby is life changing, but I didn't really grasp it until we brought him home. The first night he didn't sleep a wink... I woke my mother-in law up at six am in tears because I only had a few hours of sleep in the past three days. I was beyond exhausted and sleep-deprived. Zan and his mom were amazing and took care of Romeo the whole day, waking me every two to three hours to feed. I truly needed that rest and felt so blessed to have a good support system in my home. Nursing came easy for me (I know I got extremely lucky) but the first week was still a major adjustment. I felt like I was feeding him twenty-four hours a day!! It takes time to get used to the feeding schedule. I would even get a little anxiety towards the end of the night that he wouldn't sleep at all. Luckily, after two nights and a lot of experimenting on mom and dad's behalf, he started to sleep four hours at a time. That has since changed, but he still sleeps a consecutive three hours at a time during the night. I realize I have such a good baby who rarely cries, but it still took me two weeks to not feel overwhelmed. Hats off to all you single moms out there who do this alone or moms who have fussier babies!! On Sunday we'll be going into the third week of having Romeo home and it gets better each day. I fall more and more in love with him every minute. He's incredible, a precious gift and I'm so blessed to have a healthy, sweet and loving baby boy. I'm trying to cherish these moments because I know they go by so fast. Thank you to my "mommy" friends who helped me through that first week with phone calls and texts telling me it gets better and that I'm not crazy for feeling completely overwhelmed. I can't imagine my life without Romeo... He's the best thing that has ever happened to me. Also, thank you all so much for all of the SUPER sweet comments and support ;) 

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old-fashioned banana cake

We grilled out with our family for Memorial Day. I was so hankering to bake something because I haven't been in the kitchen since Romeo was born. Baking is therapeutic to me... I love doing it! I wasn't up for too much "experimenting" because if it turned out bad, I would be disappointed I spent the time making it, especially because my free time is so precious now ;) Instead, I used Ina's recipe for old-fashioned banana cake with cream cheese frosting and I wasn't disappointed! It was very moist, with a hint of orange zest and a light whipped frosting. If you like banana bread then you'll love this recipe! The only thing I did differently was change the cooking time to 26 minutes and also added 8 ounces of cream cheese instead of 6 ounces. Oh and the cake was a hit at the BBQ! 

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money balloons

We make it so easy for people when we just hand them gift money in a card... Don't you think they should work for it a little more? The enjoyment of trapping money inside a balloon full of confetti will never get old. It's fun to watch the recipient get spooked by a popping balloon, covered in confetti and of course count the money inside! I did this for my mother on her 60th birthday and for our niece's high school graduation this past week! It definitely tops handing someone a card with cash inside... although that's not too bad either ;) This is just a little more exciting! Read my tips below on creating a money balloon!

Money Balloon Tips...

When I did this for my mom, I took clear balloons to a regular grocery store and they were hesitant to blow them up. I guess they weren't used to money-in-a-balloon request! They finally agreed to do it, but didn't add enough helium. The balloons were too thin and small, so when the money really weighed them down. I learned next time to have them done at an actual balloon shop, which is what I did for our niece. I used 16-inch clear balloons, which seemed to work much better. I would suggest only putting about 5-6 rolled-up bills in each 16-inch balloon with a handful of confetti. Also, they'll become weighted down if you wait too long to give them away. Try to have them done just a few hours or less before so they are nice and inflated, rather than deflated! If you have to wait, put less bills in each balloon. Hand them off and watch the fun happen :) 

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romeo's first beach day

Five days after Romeo was born, I was so ready to get out of the house and into the sun. I don't think anyone can prepare you for what it's like to bring home an infant. There are no words for the joy, as well as the exhaustion and adjustment... I'll write more about that later. Last Friday we took him to Paradise Cove in Malibu for his first day at the beach! It was a completely different experience with a newborn. I pretty much sat in the chair feeding him while looking at the water and trying to tan my legs which seems to be impossible! Still, it was a relief to be outside with a gorgeous view and beautiful baby. Now we can always tell him the sand at Paradise Cove was the first ground his little feet touched :)

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little prince

My little prince is here! He was born on Sunday and was the best Mother's Day gift I could ever imagine. Zan and I are madly in love with him ;) His birth was very l-o-n-g, but worth every second once I first laid eyes on him. We've been adjusting to life at home with the baby angel, which definitely has its challenges... especially with a sleep-deprived mama. I can't believe we have this baby boy to take care of for the rest of our lives. I look forward to every stage of his development and to being his mama forever ;) 

Photos by daddy ;)

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