Hazel Belle. 18 months.

18 months! Holy moly. I remember this time last year so clearly when she was turning 6 months old - it's hard to believe now we're already halfway to TWO. Everything they say is true, it really does go so fast! We really do try to make the most of each day with her, but the years seem to be going by in a blink just like everyone warned us they would. We've had a lot of fun with Hazel the past few months, and find her so enjoyable and funny at this age. I would be remiss not to mention she's entered full-fledge toddlerhood which can be challenging at times. Of course I'm so happy to have a strong-willed little girl, but the impatient, selfish part of me finds it difficult at times. Thankfully, she's really so sweet most of the time and the challenging parts of being a toddler will only last so long.

Development/Milestones: The best part of this stage is all her words! She's been chatting up a storm and can repeat almost every word we ask her to say. She's even started to string a few words together. The other day we heard her "counting" to three - she wasn't saying the words "one, two, three" but she definitely had the sing-songy cadence we use while counting. 

Eating: She's definitely gotten a little pickier, but we try to offer her all sorts of different things to keep it interesting.

Sleeping: She's down to one, two-hour nap and still sleeping around 11 hours a night. We're grateful for our good little sleeper :)

Likes and Demeanor: She's definitely forming more of an opinion, but it still a very go with the flow personality. She's also very expressive and makes the funniest little faces. A recent highlight was when she said "I luh you" unprompted to me the other day. Melt my heart! Other things she likes right now is playing catch (and carrying her ball everywhere), Elmo, taking baths, pointing out facial features, dogs ("goggy"), and all things mama and papa. We're having the best time with her!

Easy Weekends Together.

After several weekends of traveling in a row, we were finally free to take it easy and it was such a joy. We eased into Saturday with eggs and bacon, followed by a walk around our neighborhood to our town's weekly farmer's market. Even though it was chilly, the sun is so much warmer these days and it felt so good to be outside. Hazel was free to run around and Aaron and I sat and watched with a cup of pour over coffee to keep warm. We also spent an hour at the park on Sunday, and I couldn't help but capture how cute Hazel was on the playground - only made better by her adorable fur hood!

One last snow day.

I had kind of envisioned pictures of flowers and sunshine from here on out, but we were surprised with a snow storm two days into spring! While I would much rather start wearing dresses and seeing the cherry blossoms, it was kind of fun to play in the snow for one last time this year (this has to be the last one right?)

4th Annual Girls' Trip to San Diego and Torrey Pines!

After Christine's July move to San Diego, it was always in the back of my mind that I'd need to visit her at some point. Then after several weeks of navigating schedules and trying to figure out where we wanted to go for our girls' weekend this year, I randomly found a reasonable flight and it timed perfectly with her previous arrangements to stay at The Lodge at Torrey Pines.

We had grand visions of eating all the tacos, hot tubs, beach walks, and the Carlsbad flower fields, and we were lucky enough to get all of that despite the rainy weather passing through. It was such a treat to see Christine's new neighborhood (North Park!), and of course, document all the Instagrammable spots in her west coast life. While we didn't get that perfect San Diego weather on Saturday, the highlight of the trip was no doubt the 80-minute hot stone massage, along with the incredible dinner at A.R. Valentine where I tried my very first port with dessert!

I'm grateful for another memorable girls' weekend in the books, and I can't say enough about how wonderful our stay was at The Lodge at Torrey Pines. Rain or shine, that place is a gem and I hope we can get back there again soon. Thanks so much to Christine for hosting and organizing such a wonderful itinerary! See more of our girls' weekend recaps here, here, and here. Now... on to the pictures!

The ones I love.

What a gift to witness them love one another.

RW Guild in New York.

During my visit to the city last week, I couldn't wait to get over to the new RW Guild, which is conveniently just a few steps from the ONA office in Soho. Roman and Williams is a firm famous for meticulously designing some of the most renowned restaurants in New York, and this cafe is no different. While I really enjoyed the oat milk latte, I think what I loved the most was how the space had a rich patina as if it had been here for years. I also couldn't get over the gorgeous flower shop in the corner - just another reason to love New York!

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