all our bags are packed.

Well friends, the time has come for Lachlan and I to jet set across the planet and land safely in Florida. All are bags are packed and we are ready to go. Well, as ready as one can be when flying alone with a four month old baby.

Three flights. Two layovers. 25 hours of travel time. Phew!

Yes, call me crazy right now. I am nervous for the travel. I am excited to get that first stamp in our little boy's passport. I am scared that things might go horribly wrong. I am thrilled to be introducing my baby boy to some of my closet and dearest friends. And I am sad to be leaving Max behind. We are going to miss him so, so much! In short, I am just a big ball of emotions you could say! But, if everything goes wrong and blows up in my face, I plan on following my dad's advice and just start crying. I mean, people are bound to be nice to a crying momma. Right?!

All that being said, I can't wait for this adventure and am so grateful we are in a place where I am able to take my child and fly home so that he can meet some of the people that mean the very most to me.

Since I will be traveling for the next few weeks without my computer, I am sad to say that I might not be 'round these parts as often as I usually am. It will be a little blog break with a massive catch up and large post about traveling alone with an infant when we return. So look forward to that :)

Prayers and happy thoughts for Lachlan and I's safe travel would be greatly appreciated.

Much love,
Michelle

need a laugh.

Need a laugh??

I'm not sure what is going on, but there have been a ton of laughing baby videos getting around lately. I have no idea why it is so funny to watch and listen to a baby laugh, but I just can't get enough. If you are having a bad day, watch one of these and I can guarantee it will make you feel better... even if just for a minute. So stickin' cute!








And my very favourite one!
(maybe because it is my best friend's baby who I will get to meet for the first time in just ONE WEEK!!!!)



Hope that made your day just a little bit better!

guy or doll.

Last weekend my good friend, Alyce, and her husband, Ryan, held their first ever gender reveal party!! Alyce is very much into creative arts (dance, musicals, etc) and her husband is an awesome graphic designer, so it was no surprise to me when I received this one-of-a-kind invitation in the mail for their 1920's Broadway themed party. So cute right!!

They held the party in our backyard and I was so busy socialising, taking care of Lachlan and helping get the food ready for the party, that I forgot to take pictures of the food table. Just imagine something really cute :)

To announce baby Aldous' gender, they had these really awesome confetti guns made filled with either pink or blue. There was a slight technical difficulty when it was shot off, but we could all see the BLUE confetti sneaking out. 

It's a BOY!!!!



After resolving a few issues, the blue confetti flew and everyone cheered for Alyce and Ryan's little baby boy!!!
























Of course I had to sneak in a few pictures of our little baby boy!



It wasn't that long ago that we were having this same party for our little guy. Ahhh the memories, haha.



It was the first of many beautiful celebrations for baby Aldous and I am so looking forward to the many more to come.



Congratulations Ryan and Alyce!! We are so excited for you guys and your little baby boy!

a little piece of home.

I was out running errands the other day and happened to drive past a sign.  Not just any ol' sign, but something oddly familiar and strangely exciting. This sign immediately caught my eye with its familiar font and striking words. COMING SOON... OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE! It is true my friends. Outback Steakhouse is officially opening their first ever Queensland location right here in Brisbane and I could not be more excited!!

I know what you are thinking. "Umm... wouldn't Australia be the first place you would find Outback Steakhouse?" (nope- it is an American restaurant) or "Really, Outback Steakhouse isn't that amazing" (three words- Bloomin' freakin' Onion) or "Who really cares" (Umm.. THIS GIRL!).

It is hard to explain to people unless you have moved to a new country, but over time you really start missing food you never thought you would miss. Every time you start to think about a trip back home, you find yourself planning all of your outings around food and shyly saying things like... "Oh, and while we are at the mall we will have to stop by Panera for a Sierra Turkey sandwich on a toasted everything bagel" like you hadn't been thinking about it for the last forty two days. Or, "Oh, I guess while we are here filling up the car, I might as well duck in and get a bag of fritos, some white cheddar popcorn and a diet sunkist." I mean, who even likes fritos anymore?!?!

So when I saw that bless-ed "COMING SOON" sign, I damn near drove off the side of the road in shock and unnecessary excitement. You mean to tell me that in the very near future I can have a BLOOMIN' ONION any day of the week?!?!!?

Really though, seeing that sign was more about feeling like a little piece of home was moving in next door. As sad as it sounds, Outback Steakhouse holds a lot of really good memories for me. It was always number one on my special Birthday Dinner list as a kid and was the place my dad always took me out to when he would come visit me at college (Go Gators!). We would sit there for hours drinking cold margaritas and eating way to much food as we talked about everything under the sun. You see, my dad is full of advice. Advice about money. Advice about business. Even a little bit of advice about relationships. And I seriously value his advice! But every time we visited Outback Steakhouse, my dad would end the conversation by telling me how proud he was of me and what I was doing with my life. And as much as I enjoyed the free meal and tender steak, what I really loved was that one-on-one time with my dad. It was our place, Outback, and now I can go there whenever I'd like for a little taste of home. Amen!

*****************************

Fun Facts:
- There are already 6 Outback's in Australia but they are all located in New South Wales (how did I not know this?!?!).
- The menu is slightly different, but they have been sure to include the standard American restaurant trend of free refills on soft drinks (which is not done in Australia).
- As you probably guessed, the prices are much higher here (even though our dollar is worth more... can someone PLEASE explain that one to me!) American Outback Special $16.99, Australian Outback Special $29.95??
- The next chain restaurants I am hoping make the big jump to Australia are (in no particular order) 1. Tin Lizzy's Cantina 2. Carrabba's Italian Grill 3. Moes Southwest Grill 4. Bagelheads 5. Panera Bread... not that I have given this any thought or anything, haha.

its a beautiful day.

It has been raining in Brisbane for, like, a year! Okay, maybe more like a week and a half, but it feels like a year! I might be the kind of person who gets a bit crazy when it rains constantly. Seasonal depression they call it. What? 8 days of rain doesn't constitute seasonal depression?!?? Okay then, let's just say I like the sunshine. A lot.

Then, last Saturday a miracle happened and the sun came out. It was like Mother Nature (yes, she is a proper noun) could tell we were all getting a bit depressed and decided to give us a break for the day. And boy did she deliver. It. Was. Beautiful.



In honour of the sunshine, and the fact that is was a Saturday, we decided to spend this glorious morning at the beach.

It was Lachlan's first time on the Sunshine Coast (outside the womb) and so we thought he might like to take his first dip in the ocean.






I am pretty sure he wasn't all that impressed with the cool water and would probably prefer to stick to warm baths for now.









After testing out the water, we found a nice shady spot under a tree and took turns walking down to the beach to swim.



We talked about how we couldn't wait until Lachlan was old enough to be out there with us while reminding ourselves not to wish away time. How one day soon we will long for the days when he was just a baby who would lay there completely content, flashing that big gummy smile when we kissed his toes.

Yep, enjoying right now, this age, is exactly where we should be!

Thank you, Mother Nature, for the break in the gray skies and constant rain. It was exactly what we needed!

this day last year.

On this exact day last year I woke up and drove halfway to work. On the way there I had a bit of a... errrr... personal problem which resulted in me having to return home (sorry- too much information?). After returning home and taking care of a few things, I noticed the date. 1st March. Humm... it couldn't be. I was 5 days late. After 10 months of trying to get pregnant and letting that little "why isn't this happening" doubt into my mind, I had seemed to have lost track of the days.

Three tests later, it was confirmed! Baby Lachlan was already 4 weeks in the making and I was in shock. Good shock. Like really, really, "I SERIOUSLY can't believe this finally happened... what do I do now" kind of shock. Do I call the doctor? Do I call my husband? Do I start buying baby clothes and  researching schools????

That moment when you find out your are growing a child- that moment is kind of impossible to describe. I was so, so happy that I sat on our bed and cried and laughed at the same time. Happy tears streamed out of my eyes as I rubbed my belly and thought about how much I wanted to become a mother. This was it. I was actually, really, without a doubt pregnant. Wow!

Oh, and I did eventually call my husband to tell him I was home sick but waited until he got home that night to finally spill the beans in person with these balloons :)  

The 1st March 2012... what a beautiful day it was!