Baby Steps to Mom

Anniversary.

I'm a bit overdue for an anniversary post- well, any post, for that matter- but I wanted to share some pictures from our trip up to Happy Jack. I had never heard of this particular Arizona destination until our good friend Alex put us in touch with friends of hers who built a cabin there- a cabin they graciously open up to people like us who need a relaxing getaway free from distractions, but with all the comforts of home. We couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised when we arrived at our destination- the pictures explain it all:

The front room, complete with a TV, a Wii (Cody's favorite), and a fireplace.

It was raining and windy that day- so nice with the skylights above the fireplace :)

The room we stayed in (there were three to choose from).

A pool table! SCORE!

The awesomest bathtub ever...

LOVED this kitchen. We were set to go and didn't have to worry about eating out- it was fantastic.

Mornings were restful :)

Played some Jenga in true nerd fashion.

Hanalei showing off.

Probably my favorite picture ever taken... so sweet :)

Working on nursery ideas at Macy's, home of The Best Hot Chocolate I've Ever Had.

In Flagstaff.

On the way back from Flag... welcome to our life :)

The sky was like whoa that day.

The outside of the cabin.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Chocolate cake for dessert... and breakfast... and snacks...

It snowed on our way back to Phoenix... then rained... then the clouds cleared and the sun was blazing and we had to turn on the A/C when we arrived back in the desert. Only in Arizona.

We had such a fantastic time. It was the perfect trip to celebrate this last time with just the two of us before we being the adventure known as parenthood. Many thanks to the Bodes for creating such a wonderful place and sharing it with us and many others.

A little extra sleep...

...can go a LONG way. Cody and I have been experimenting with earlier bedtimes this week and let me just say it has been fantastic. We haven't turned on the TV once, we eat meals together, work on home or business projects, read, and head upstairs around 9:15, and the lights are always out by 10:00. When the alarm went off at 6:00 a.m., we practically jumped out of bed ready to tackle the day ahead of us. With bells on. And smiles on our faces. Not to mention, morning time is our favorite time of day, and we have missed out on it for far too long now, either because we slept in or we were just generally miserable due to lack of sleep. I. LOVE. LIFE. with enough rest and a night routine that allows me to have a productive, relaxing morning routine. And! Breakfast with my husband!

Now, I know these days will be short-lived. I'm not trying to be a pessimist in that sense; I just know it's going to change. Mornings will soon be filled with delirium, diaper changes, feedings, and general mass hysteria in our household. But somehow all of that will be OK because of this new little person we'll have in our lives. I wonder every day what kind of person she will be, what she will look like, what color her hair and her eyes will be. This whole process has been so marvelous and I am trying to savor it while I can.

We only have 100 days to go until we meet our daughter! Gah! It's amazing.

On another note, our second anniversary is a little more than a month away. We have been trying to figure out somewhere to go on-the-cheap up in northern AZ because we can't afford much right now, but doing something is incredibly important to us because it is our last anniversary before there will be a little tag-a-long who wears cute dresses and bows in her hair. We had a fantastic time last year when we stayed one night at Little America in Flagstaff and two nights at the Junipine in Oak Creek. It was beautiful and cozy and chilly and rainy and such a wonderful trip. We would give anything to do a repeat of it but unless I get bombarded with clients in the next week or so, we'll be looking for something comfortable but a little less pricey.

Any ideas?

Some pics from last year:

(At Oak Creek)

(This is what we woke up to every morning!)

(Fireplace in the bedroom)

(Our digs for the weekend)

(This was taken on our anniversary. It was a GLORIOUS day!)

(Love. Him. So. Much!)