Belated Anniversary Wishes!

Two important dates passed recently! May turned one year old, and Carolyn and Brandon celebrated their first wedding anniversary! It's kind of hard to believe - time passes so quickly, bringing many changes and reasons to be happy along the way. May has developed a favorite facial expression over the course of a year :)  

May and her Mother

Pairs of wide eyes in a couple'a precious faces! Justin, Trish, and May are in the middle of moving into a new house right now! Lots of work to be done for them; hopefully we get to see a shot of May wielding a hammer or something :)

The Many Expressions of May, part 1

                    

Are words necessary? :) 

~xomo

Me 'n May

Trish and May came to Kentucky this past week for a visit, and they just left this morning; I'm really missing them!  I am May's Godmother and this was my first time meeting her.  Ahhhhh, this baby is just....so AWESOME.  She has a huge repertoire of facial expressions, and goes between little, babbly conversations and an extremely thoughtful, focused stare that sees right in to your core.  I know everyone says this about their own baby, but she definitely is incredibly advanced.  I am so happy and grateful they came to visit, love them both so much!  Lots of baby photos to sort through now, stay tuned :)

~xomo

ps: An extremely clear resemblance to her parents, haha!

Happy Anniversary!

To the most awesome pair (now a little group of three) EVER!  So many changes so quickly!  Happy one year wedding anniversary to Trish and Justin!!!  love you both so much.

Family Photo

May is coming up on 2 months now, and growing a lot!  In the pictures I see of her, she is changing all the time.  I'm so anxious to meet her in person - skyping with Trish is great, but I want to try holding her!  I go back and look at this picture a lot; I love it so much.  Their first family photo!  right after the birth.  They all look amazing :)

Introducing...

May Kathryn Duffy!  born on Sunday the 23rd, in Cairo, Egypt, shortly before the supermoon rose into the sky.  Both she and Trish are happy and healthy.  In fact, I took this picture during our video call just 3 days after the birth, and I couldn't believe how alert May already looked!  And also Trish looked amazing, but that doesn't really surprise me :)  She said she feels "over the moon and super in love all the time!" and that birth is an indescribable, awe-inspiring experience.

Here is some video taken during May's first days, which Justin put together, if you'd like to see.  She is so beautiful!  Can't wait to meet her in person.

Much love to the new parents,
xomo

ps:  By the way, she is not normally that brilliant shade of pink; that's just something weird from the computer lighting/photo taking.

Beautiful Mama!

Trish is due sooooon!  We are all so excited!  She looks amazing :)

Weddings and Babies

Big things are happening people, BIG things.  Big plans, Big changes, Big bellies.  First of all, Carolyn (also known as my best friend in the entire world) is getting married in two months!  I guess I never mentioned anything about her engagement, but that's obviously old news now.  Her husband-to-be is in those pictures above.  His name is Brandon, and he is a very intelligent, quirky, funny, and faithful companion to Carolyn.  I don't think I would have let her go to anyone else :)  I am super excited for their wedding!  I get to be at home for about a month before it, too, to spend time with Carolyn during her last single days, which I'm really glad about.  Time flies - It seems like Trish and Justin's wedding was just the other week.  It was actually about 7 months ago, however, which you can see by the size of Trish's belly (she calls it an aspiring little mountain).  I can't believe they will have a baby soon!  Those are a couple photos of her in Egypt, where she and Justin are currently living.  She recommends these books, and also check out this article that another mom-to-be wrote, about having a satisfying pregnancy experience, which is interesting.  I am totally in awe of the changes that Carolyn and Trish are undertaking right now.  Love those ladies to the ends of the Earth!

~xomo

ps:  I feel like I see a decent amount of people marrying someone that they slightly resemble.  Don't you think Carolyn and Brandon share some physical characteristics?  I wonder if we unconsciously gravitate towards a face that feels a little familiar and comforting, or if we start to look more like our partners as time goes by because we pick up on facial expressions and style?  I guess some people looking nothing alike, so...whatever.

Photos from Egypt

 No special breakfast at home today because I had a class that started in the early morning and provided food, but I wanted to share these photos that Justin and Trish took, who moved to Egypt a few weeks ago and will be living there for nine months.  They're expecting a baby and working on various projects, and the whole thing is a giant whirlwhind!  They started a  blog to share stories, and here are some amazing pictures, a few of which are above.  I think about them all the time, over there in another part of the world, livin' life.  Incredible :)

Take care out there!
xomo

Baby Beans

This lady has a surprise up her sleeve...and in her tummy!  I am ecstatic to say that Trish and Justin are now expecting Mo Jr to come into the world this summer, and I will soon be an Aunt.  A cousin-aunt.  A cousint?   Cousaunt?  I am so excited!  Here is his/her first picture!

We are all obsessed with looking at it.  Trish is the first person I'm close with to be pregnant, and it's so interesting to hear about how the baby affects her body, and everything she and Justin are beginning to go through.  They are on an exceptionally wild roller coaster because Justin is now involved in a project in Egypt, and they are moving there for 9 months in January.  So yes, the baby will be born abroad!  They are over there right now for a couple of weeks scoping out the scene and looking for a place to live, and started their own blog to tell unique stories.  

I've always been interested in reading about women's pregnancy experiences, but now I'm super into it.  Here is a cool article about the connection and movement of cells between mother and child.  Also, I was always under the impression you were supposed to cut out coffee while pregnant, but look at this.  (That makes me breath a sigh of relief at the idea of going through it myself one day...)  Trish and I have spent time talking about how the experience is different for everyone, and it's really important for a mother to do what feels right for her.  Looking forward to learning and sharing more about all of this!  Much love to Trish, J, and the little spud :)

They did it!

 Trish and J tied the knot this past weekend!  Hooray!  The wedding was incredible.  I love these two individually, and I love them as one.  Many others feel the same way because their wedding was a huge showing of support, friendship, and love.  It was a testament to the spirit of generosity.  Does that sound over the top?  It's true!  There was a tangible feeling in the air that infected everyone; it made me feel very real and alive.  And it kind of felt like time was moving in another dimension, because by the time the weekend was over I felt like I had been there for a month, and it was a little surreal to get on a plane and head straight back to school.  I wanted to know more about everyone I met there, hear their stories and just spend time being with them.  I'm going to share more details about the weekend, but I want to wait until I have a chance to look through more pictures.  Gosh, Trish is so beautiful I can hardly stand it.  I believe so strongly in this relationship - Congratulations to my cousin and cousin-in-law!

One Week!

One week, one week!  One week until Trish and J tie the knot!  I love these two so much and can't wait to go to Massachusetts next weekend to celebrate with them!  I get to see my mom and sister, too, which I'm so happy about.  After the wedding the couple is flying to Thailand for their honeymoon, then shortly after that going to live in Egypt for a few months for some work that Justin is doing.  What an adventure!  "We'll be busier with life-living than bees with their honey-making," Trish told me once right before I moved to Worcester.  Well we were, and we are, and now they will be :)  Hurrah for them!

A "Hooray!" Day

There are a couple things that call for an extra-satisfying, celebratory breakfast today (Mom's homemade quiche and toast with goat cheese and jam, yum).  The first is that this beautiful woman had her birthday yesterday!  We did the best we could with texts, phone calls, and online chats, and we will celebrate together in person next week when I go out to Massachusetts for a few days during my vacation, which includes her wedding shower, because yes!  there is a wedding happening in September!  So, another birthday wish and xoxo to Trish this morning, and sips from the twin mug made in her honor :) The other thing is that I finally found a place to live in Lexington, where I'm starting grad school in just a few weeks, and I think I'm going to love it.  It's a garage converted into an apartment, encompasses two floors, and was built by a Swedish psychology professor.  It's all wood paneling, and as far as I can tell, will feel like living in a log cabin.  There is also a little pool in the backyard.  Woohoo!  Looking for an apartment is always stressful, and it's such a relief when something is settled.  I move and start and school in 3 weeks, eek.  Feeling nervous and excited.


ps:  By the way, do you ever get tired of looking at tiny apartments when you're trying to find a new place?  I scrolled through a million crappy craigslist ads and almost didn't even respond to the one I ended up taking because it didn't give much information.  The whole process made me keep thinking of this Tom Robbins quote:  "Priscilla lived in a studio apartment.  It was called a 'studio' apartment because art is supposed to be glamorous and landlords have a vested interest in making us believe that artists prefer to sleep in their workrooms.  Real artists almost never live in studio apartments.  There isn't enough space, and the light is all wrong.  Clerks live in studio apartments.  File clerks, shop clerks, law clerks, community college students, elderly widows, and unmarried waitresses."  Ha!  And graduate students.