happy second, third, fourth and fifth

it was pretty quiet around here over the holiday weekend... no picnics or parties or barbecues or beach outings for us. it's probably a bit too early for baby-isaac to be doing too much in the summer heat. but even if it was okay, we've all been quite exhausted here the past few days. late, sleepless nights of feeding and calming down our three-week-old who, for some reason, has gone from being the poster child of the "angelic babies club" {sleeping about six hours straight through the night and breast-feeding like a pro} to being fussy and waking every two or three hours at night and wanting to eat all day long.

our nice little heavenly schedule went from great to not-so-great overnight. anyway, i'm not complaining. i'm glad we had a good stretch while we did. and hopefully, it will return. but until then, this is one tired mama-bird writing this late fourth of july post.

as i said, we didn't do much. but on friday, the 2nd, i went to my first official birthday party as a mom {for a friend's one-year-old}... and sat around with other moms and their babies. it was quite wonderful to be with other moms and have something in common with them. we all asked about each other's babies and when they were born and how big they were and what their experiences of being a mom are like... all that good stuff. it was a lot of fun. and it was, once again, surreal... to be at my first birthday party for little ones in the role of "new mom".

then came saturday, the 3rd. we went on our first walk as a family... it was truly wonderful. the weather was lovely. and even if it had been less than ideal, we were in a blissful state of mind... walking through the neighborhood as a new family of three. it's still rather unbelievable at times... in a good way.

as we walked, b. pointed out how a year earlier on the 3rd of july {he has a good memory and remembers exactly where we were and what we did on that day}, having a son to push around in a stroller a year later was the farthest thing from our minds... not even remotely on the radar. "life takes some strange twists and turns."... to quote my mother. and if life's strange twists and turns have beautiful babies at the end of them, i say bring on the strange... bring on the twisty, curvy, unforeseen ways!!!

for the 4th, we once again ventured out with baby-isaac in the stroller. but this time, we just walked to starbucks for some much-needed caffeine. isaac had us up so much in the night, we slept until noon. on our way back, we passed all the beautiful hanging planters of flowers that lined the streets of our historic downtown. when i saw the planters that held the gorgeous bright-red and white petunias against the bright patriotic-blue sky, i knew i had to drop off b. and isaac at home and walk back to get some "colors of independence day" photos.

depending on which way i pointed the camera, the sky was the perfect blue for my red, white and blue theme. sometimes, though, the sky was more of a teal {when pointed toward the sun}. but even though our flag's blue is far from teal-ish, i decided to still include those shots, too.

{this next shot is my favorite.}

lastly, here we are on the fifth. i'm the most exhausted i've been yet... i only had three hours of sleep. every single area of my life is in disarray or has been grossly neglected... bills, laundry, cleaning, shopping, my e-mail inbox, just all-around general stuff. i'm lucky if i find time to shower and eat a decent meal. again... not complaining. i wanted this! 

well, lucky for me, my future sister-in-law is on her way to meet isaac and bring me some lunch... a little respite or break in my unrelenting schedule. and it's another beautiful day to boot!

anyhoo... though i am late with the holiday greetings, we can celebrate freedom year-round. and we SHOULD! so... as i had a happy 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and {so far} 5th of july, i wish you a happy 5th and a good week {what is remaining}!

perhaps i can return soon with some more baby pics. i feel like i have to keep up... he's changing by the minute. but until then, i'm off to catch some z's before auntie brooke gets here.

xo