My First Mother's Day!

My first Mother's Day with our daughter was as lovely as they come! I am so thankful to have our family close and to have started traditions that will hopefully continue on for a long time!

The weekend began with The Race for the Cure with my Mom, and this year, Claire! Mom and I have been doing this 5k for about 5 years, which we run in celebration of my Grandma who is a breast cancer survivor. I think it's only appropriate that it falls on Mother's Day weekend and I hope that as the years go on, Claire will find it to be as special of an event as I have.

Sunday morning Chris was up early making breakfast and coffee and tending to Claire so that I could sleep in a bit. He was quite giddy for 7am and asked if I wanted to enjoy breakfast outside (something I would do every morning if he let me!), which is when he surprised me with new lounge chairs for our pool! They are the perfect additions to our backyard and a lovely place to kickback and enjoy our morning coffee together! A big thank you to our parents for going in on them, too!!

And just when I thought I had been spoiled enough, Chris and Claire had some other wonderful surprises peppered throughout the morning which included the insulated picnic cooler and zip-up picnic blanket I had been eying at Vera Bradley! I cannot wait to use them both on our next family picnic and park play dates (both activities we've been enjoying quite a bit lately)! I never cease to be amazed at my husband's thoughtfulness when it comes to gift-giving. 

We then joined our families for a beautiful brunch hosted by Chris' mom. All the moms in the extended family were invited along with their spouses and kids, which made for a good-sized get together! From sparkling mimosas to homemade cherry turnovers, everything was perfectly fit for a queen (or a very grateful mommy!). And best of all, I was able to celebrate with all of the lovely women in my life, including my mom and daughter, the two reasons that make the day so very special! 

After a wonderful afternoon nap and delicious dinner at my parents' house, we headed home. I couldn't have asked for better way to spend my first Mother's Day! It was simple and lovely and spent with my favorite people!

Happy Mothers Day!

"No one else will ever know the strength of my love for you. After all, you're the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside" 

 

I feel profoundly blessed to celebrate Mother's Day this year as a Mama to the most precious little girl in the whole world! What a privilege and a delight to finally know motherhood; it has forever changed me for the better! Wishing all the Mama's (and Mamas-to-be) an exceptionally beautiful day today!

Mom's Day as a Mom-to-Be

Now that my big secret is out, lets talk about Mother's Day!

As I shared Friday, my mom and I did the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Saturday morning, followed by breakfast and pedicures. It was a lovely, relaxing day just hanging out with my mom. Sunday was an equally restful day, ending with a perfect dinner of fish tacos at my parent's house!

Dessert!

But I have to tell you, I was totally surprised by my husband and parents! Because beyond the super thoughtful texts and calls I got Sunday morning wishing me a "Happy 1st Mother's Day", I certainly wasn't expecting gifts! But once again, they exceeded all expectations and made me feel so special!

Early Sunday afternoon I was surprised by my Mom and Dad at my front door, with all the makings for a new lovely arrangement for our front door! For as long as I can remember, I have loved the Asparagus Fern my mom has on her porch, so she cut hers in half and replanted it for me, in addition to these gorgeous lillies and greens! Isn't it awesome?! I love how large that pot is! It definitely says, "Welcome to our home!" :) 

And then my sweet husband came home with the exact patio umbrella I've been eyeing for weeks (make that months!) for our back yard! He said it would serve as motivation for us to get the rest of our soon-to-be outdoor oasis completed! That man sure does know how to romance this girl:)

Thank you to my family who made this the best "1st Mother's Day" ever! This baby is definitely loved!!

Mother's Day Weekend

Happy Friday, lovelies! What are you doing to celebrate the Mom in your life this weekend?

My mom and I are continuing our tradition of the Susan G. Komen 5K tomorrow and then I am treating her to a pedicure Sunday. With the weather forecast predicting a sunny few days, it should be a lovely little weekend celebrating the Best Mom Ever!

Wishing a happy Mother's day to all the mommies and mommies-to-be out there! Have a good one!

Mother's Day Brunch

It's amazing how much you have to catch up on when absent from blogland a couple of days...kinda pathetic! So many good blogs to read:)

I have had an incredible few days, mainly because I spent so much quality time with my amazing mom! We ran the Race for the Cure Saturday morning (and sadly got no pictures!). Despite being super late this year, we still made it for the 7:40 start time!

Saturday afternoon was occupied with brunch prep the next day. I must say, I am a total and complete sucker for brunch! Most of the food items came from Giada's new cookbook and did not disappoint!

Our menu included:

Lemoncello and Blueberry Cooler
Coffee
Fresh fruit
Smoked Gouda and Spicy Sausage Frittata (A-mazing!)
Pillsbury Orange rolls (funny story about these!)

There was only one small mishap, because every good meal has one, right? Originally, I made Giada's Espresso Glazed Zeppole (or homemade doughnuts!). Aren't you impressed? I certainly was! They were delicious, except I made the mistake of making them the night before (as to save myself some stress) but by morning they were completely soggy:( So Chris ran to the store and bought orange rolls, a family favorite! Oh well, now I know!

After we were good and stuffed satisfied, Mom and I went for pedicures (naturally!), did some shoe shopping (where I somehow ended up with the cutest new zebra flats) and back home to watch It's Complicated (a gift to my mom)!

All the while the boys cooked up an amazing dinner! Only to be topped off with this incredibly moist and delicious Vanillla Bean Buttermilk Cake from Orangette!

A wonderful way to celebrate a wonderful mom!

Thanks Mom!

Me and my lovely mother on her wedding day!

I am so excited about this weekend! Mother's day is such a fun opportunity to show mom just how amazing and appreciated she is! I am pretty sure I have the greatest mom in the whole world (and I'm only a bit bias;) and I love celebrating her!

Do you have any extra special plans for showing your mom how much you care?

We are continuing a tradition of running the Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure 5k on Saturday morning and then I have a few other surprises up my sleeve. I suppose I'll have to wait and share since Mom reads my blog most every morning.

Have a wonderful weekend and happy mother's day to all the awesome moms out there!

Celebrating Mom's

Where do I even begin with how fabulous my weekend was? I guess I just have to say how much I appreciate all of the wonferful women in my life! This weekend was definitely full of celebration to them:)

On Saturday morning, we woke up at 6 to run the Race for the Cure. I am pretty sure the sun comes out especially for this event. It is always such a beautiful weekend. Definitely perfect for running. This run is especially important for my Mom and me because my grandma is a two-time breast cancer survivor!! We run in celebration of her brave victory over cancer and recognize how special she is to us:) I love you Gram!

Of course, the beautiful morning wouldn't be complete without Starbucks:)

In the afternoon I attended a baby shower for Chris' cousin. The theme was ladybugs and everything was absolutely adorable! I would like to share something I realized while I was there. I will admit that I have had a bit of the baby "bug" lately. We aren't planning on getting pregnant soon or anything, but it has definitely been on my mind the past weeks (or months). But while I was at the shower, it hit me that I have such a desire to wait for babies! As wonderful as it will be when Chris and I do start to expand our family, we are still newlyweds and I would like to savor every last ounce of being spontaneous with my husband!! It was a good reminder to not rush life and really enjoy the chapter we are in and not constantly look to the next. After all, we are in such a fantastic place! However, when the time does come, my husband is going to be the most amazing father:) I constantly get glimpses of him with kids and I just fall more and more in love!

And on Sunday we spent the day celebrating our wonderful Moms! We made a delicious lunch for them complete with gourmet sandwiches, fresh fruit, champagne and the most beautiful petite desserts you have ever seen (courtesy of Whole Foods!). After we hung out and chatted for a while, Chris took his Mom to see the new Star Trek movie and My mom and I went to see Ghosts of Girlfriend's past:) Perfectly fitting for each of us! I can't speak for their movie, but ours was so cute! Of course, we LOVE Matthew McConaughey!! Afterwards, the six of us (including the guys) hung out at my in-laws, where the men cooked dinner for us:) I think my favorite part of the evening was the fantastic margaritas! Oh, and the sunshine! And of course watching our cute pup play for hours in the pool.

After such a fun-filled weekend I am a little sleepy this morning, but it was so worth it!

I hope you had a great weekend celebrating your wonderful Mom!