Showing posts with label minnesota. Show all posts
Showing posts with label minnesota. Show all posts

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Ailey Is Here

I'm an aunt for the first time. Feels strange to type and say out loud, but exciting in a life-changing way. Although my name doesn't exactly roll off the tongue when paired with the word Aunt. Auntie Ana? A.A.? Still working on it.

Flying into Minnesota on Thursday afternoon, after getting the call the previous night that Carly was headed to the hospital with pre-labor contractions, I was overwhelmed with nervous excitement. How am I supposed to hold her? Will she immediately burst into tears? Then what do I do? What if I drop her? All legitimate fears, I would say.

Unfortunately, the Minnesota weather gods had other plans--ones that involved lots of snow, plane delays and more snow. This is how St. Paul, Minnesota likes to do mid-April:


Ailey has a liftime of balmy springs to look forward to, that's for sure. 

Weather aside, this entire weekend has been filled with pure joy. None of my family members, including my parents who flew in from Seattle and Justin's parents who drove down from upstate MN in a literal blizzard, can wipe the smiles from our faces. We probably look like a bunch of crazies with a few screws loose. But who cares, let's cut to the chase--the BABY!!


Ailey Roselynn Anderson was born healthy as can be on Thursday, April 18th at 2:54am weighing in at 7 lbs 11 oz.

My sister of course rocked the delivery, popping that little thing out in no time. Arrived at the hospital at midnight. Baby born and nursing by 3:00am. Carly is superhuman, no doubt about it.

Once the rest of us arrived at the hospital, we quickly morphed into a swarming mass of paparazzi, little Ailey becoming a prop in the quest for the perfect photo op. But I think she enjoyed all the attention. She certainly better get used to the spoiling, because there's more from where that came from.






The grandparents!


The next day, we welcomed Carly, Justin and Ailey home from the hospital in true paparazzi form with multiple photographers and a sign!








Their dog Naddie was probably the most excited to see them back home, since they had been at the hospital for three days straight and had left, understandably, in a traumatic rush!


Of course, the first day home from the hospital was filled with a lot of Ailey firsts.

Her first wear of "real" non-hospital issued socks...


 Her first diaper change at home (as Naddie looks on intrigued)...



Her first manicure...Just kidding, we are actually only filing her nails with a mini nail filer. Yes, this is a real doctor-ordered thing!


Many more firsts to come!

Carly and Justin did an amazing job with Ailey's nursery too. I mean, just look at that rocking chair.



Can't wait for more Ailey firsts.

If you have any advice for new parents, please share, I know Carly and Justin would welcome it!
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Tuesday, January 1, 2013

A New Year's 2-For-1 Special

Happy 2013! With all the last minute gift-shopping, celebrations, and traveling over the past couple of weeks, I thought why not squeeze two posts into one to cover everything. A New Year's Two-fer special! Who doesn't love a good post-holiday deal this time of year, right?

The fam and I (sans Mom & Dad due to an unwelcome stomach bug; we missed you!) spent Christmas as we've done for the past couple of years, up at the Anderson's beautiful, cozy, quintessentially-winter cabin in Babbitt, Minnesota. The cabin, which is about a four-hour drive North of the Twin Cities, is tucked away in the snowy woodlands of "North Country" perched atop the edge of a pristine lake, offering the most breathtaking winter wonderland views you can imagine. So breathtaking in fact, that I forgot to take any pictures to share with you :) I did however, capture some moments of our weekend... Thank you Kosha and Skeeter as always for being such amazing hosts and opening up your beautiful home!


Could this face be any cuter??

Walkin' in a winter wonderland....

Carly was having some trouble with her boot. Baby bump got in the way. Justin to the rescue!


Twice-baked potatoes!
Painting our nails. One of the many "inside activities" we did.


Now for Part Two...New Year's Eve! Ringing in 2013 was one of the most memorable NYE's for me because we spent it at the Coldplay/Jay-Z concert at the newly-built Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Making our way into the shiny new stadium along with 19,000 of our closest friends, we found our seats just off the left side of the stage, with amazingly no one in front of us which is a huge win for 5'3" me (we were at the very front of our section)! As a massive Coldplay fan who has never seen them live before, I loved every minute of the concert as the band played hit after hit off almost all of their albums. Following their set, Jay-Z came on just before 12:00, counting down the crowd to the New Year with a mass of confetti and balloons bursting from the rafters at the stroke of midnight. A New Year's Eve to remember, that's for sure! 


Getting excited!
Look at us! In our seats!

Coldplay on stage

Jay-Z and Coldplay's lead singer Chris Martin rocking it out together!
A sea of light-up wristbands. So cool!
Wristbands unite.


Wishing everyone a very happy and healthy 2013!
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