birthday celebrations all week long!

i feel like there is a 'cool kids club' at my house and i'm not a part of it since my birthday didn't take place this week and everyone else's did. but that's ok because this new baby will most likely show up on my birthday in june and we'll have our own little month to party!

anyway, my love had a birthday on monday! last year we went into the hospital on josh's birthday (even though eleanor didn't show up for 36 more painful hours. ugh.) so i think my husband and i both appreciated that we weren't in a hospital on his special day this year. we celebrated by going out for ice cream before lunch on saturday, dinner just us two that evening, a few movies in bed on monday and shared an ice cream cake roll with a few close friends that evening. i based the cake roll off this recipe but didn't add any peppermint extract (just more vanilla extract instead) and used josh's favorite ice cream, ben & jerry's mint chocolate cookie, instead of vanilla.

then, our baby girl turned ONE yesterday. we're having a little party for her this weekend where she'll get to dig into a real birthday cake, but we decided to have a little family celebration with eleanor's first cupcake last night, too. as you can see below, she was beyond excited! (and so was her mama!)

we've been working hard on sharing. as eleanor began eating her cupcake, josh went in and asked for a bite and she kindly fed him a few! we are so proud of her for always being willing to share. although i will say she somehow shares more with papa than with mama. don't even get me started on how she'll randomly give him kisses throughout the day without him even asking for them. does this mean she is a daddy's girl? someone please tell me it's just a phase. ;)

and then, she went at it. it only took her maybe 4 minutes tops. the entire thing, people. she ate the entire thing. if there was any doubt before, rest assured, she is most definitely our daughter.

then we were a big mess! so we had a bath, and opened a few presents that our families so kindly sent eleanor afterwards. (thank you, families!)

i love having a week dedicated to celebrating my two favorite people! i don't want a day to go by without both my husband and baby girl knowing by my actions and words just how much they mean to me. i hope they both feel my love for them. they are my world. happy birthday, husband and eleanor!

ps. thank you to all who left such kind and thoughtful comments on eleanor's birthday post! i cannot wait to share them with her someday.

love ever after.

i absolutely love these images from photographer lauren fleishman. she's currently working on a project called love ever after which will feature the love stories of couples who have been married for over 50 years. how absolutely sweet. you can see more photos of the couples here.

happy first birthday, eleanor!

i don't know how this year flew by so quickly. i remember eleanor's arrival into this world like it was yesterday, yet i can't even picture what life was like before she arrived. it's been a very bittersweet past couple of days for josh and me. how did we get here so quickly? we've been a mama and papa for an entire year? and look! she's still breathing! and healthy! and happy! and oh my gosh, so beautiful.

dear sweet eleanor, it has been my greatest privilege to be called your mother this past year. i don't know how many times throughout the day i pause and look at you and think, "she belongs to me??? how did i get so lucky?" eleanor, you have taught me so much about myself, about life and the things that matter most. you have made my saddest and most frustrating moments joyful again. i'm thankful i get to spend my days by your side. thank you for being here, for being your happy beautiful self and for making your mama and papa's day, over and over again.

we love you, eternally. happy birthday, eleanor!

ps. leave a comment for eleanor if you'd like! i'd love to hold onto them and share them with her someday.

life lately, according to my iphone pictures.

...and some from josh, too.

ps. my baby girl turns ONE tomorrow. ONE.

i can't believe how this year flew by.

so i'm off to go stare at my beautiful baby girl

who is napping right now

while she's still a "something-month old"

for a few more hours. xo

happy birthday, husband!

happy birthday to my love!

i loved you so much before,

but watching you take on the roll of "papa"

so naturally this past year,

i can't believe how much more i love you now.

looking forward to seeing you as a "papa of two" soon... ;)

i love you. xo taza

*polaroid from a trip to mexico a few years ago.

this week.

i'm not sure if it's the sleep training thing (which is really just code for mama and papa getting no sleep), the fatigue of my current pregnancy (i could fall asleep standing up, i swear), or a combination of both, but this week hasn't been my best.

today i feel how kingsley looks in this photo:

it's been hard staying on top of things this week and when i fall behind i begin to feel so overwhelmed. do you ever feel that way? what do you do pull everything back together?

a few things that have helped me out this week are...

making time for yoga helps my tired body feel like myself again (even if i only have time for it at 10:30pm before bed... like this week). i've also been enjoying a nice big cup of tea right after we put eleanor to sleep and try to sit quietly without checking my iPhone or having a computer, book or magazine in sight. and as always, talking through my frustrations or worries with my husband helps. he's really good at making me feel like i'm heard and coming up with solutions or ideas to solve my worries.

i'm hoping to take the longest nap of my life this weekend and make this coming week a great one. hopefully you have had a wonderful week so far, and if not, i wish you a better, more productive and happy weekend!

ps. panda got a bath! this photo made me laugh so hard. he really has become part of this family. ;)

...

today...

...was just beautiful.

55 degrees and sunny.

we tried to spend as much time

outside as possible.

after all, panda told eleanor

his face is too pale and needs some sun...

;)

...

feet on the table.

probably the only one in the world who can get away with having her feet on the dinner table, in my opinion. i can't help but giggle at her desired sitting positions as of late. these little ones sure know how to bring lots of smiles to the dinner table. :)

ps. we're on day two of sleep training (again) at our house. this means day two of no shower or sleep for this mama. i would really love a nap, today. but gosh, i'd also really love a new mint green colored fiat and these shoes, too. i'll just keep on dreaming.

life lately, according to my iphone pictures.

photo of eleanor and rinah together by carissa's iphone.

and a number of these from josh's iphone, too (thanks, love!)

...

we love when friends come to visit!

josh and i always talk about how we selfishly wish we could somehow pick up our best friends who now live all over the country and plop them all here in dc to live near us. now that would be something! until we figure out how to do that, we'll just be grateful that we get to see some of them on occasion when they come visit us or pass through the district.

our dear sarah who lives in LA right now is spending the next few months in NYC so we get to see her more often this spring! she came down to see us for a few days last week and let me tell you, it was such a treat! she's one of my best and closest friends and we haven't seen her since june so having her here for a few days was extra special! plus, our friends brett and chanel were also in dc for a few days last week (we haven't seem them in a while either), so it was like a big fat juilliard reunion for the day! last week was pretty wonderful in my book.

but seriously. can we just have them move to dc already?

what's that on your face, baby girl?

if eleanor could have her way, her preferred meal 3x a day, plus snacks in-between, plus all night long, plus whenever it's inconvenient for mama in public, is breast milk. but we've come so far the past few months (especially this last month) with our progress on eating solids consistently! it usually requires mama and papa clapping in unison after every bite she makes, and sometimes distracting her a little bit to get more bites into her mouth, but folks... it's happening!

and what's that? you want to see an obnoxious amount of photos of my baby eating her dinner of blackberries and pasta? well you are in luck, my friend! because i have an obnoxious amount of photos of my baby eating her dinner of blackberries and pasta right here:

and that's all! bye bye!