Hazel's 1st Birthday Party!

In things that are WAY overdue, blogging about Hazel's first birthday! We had a simple, backyard party on a beautiful September Saturday with family and a few close friends to celebrate one-year of life with Hazel Belle. It was a sweet evening, and just what I had hoped. The best part was how much she loved her cake... surprise, surprise! It was what 1st birthday dreams are made of!

Hazel Belle. 16 months.

Well, it's be a hot minute since I did a little Hazel update, but she is just too much fun at this stage to not get some of it down in writing. She keeps us laughing constantly, and it's just a real joy to live life with her. We honestly get excited when she wakes up in the morning - she is a true joy to us.

Development/Milestones: This has been such a fun stage developmentally! She's learning SO many words, and making real connections. She repeats one and two syllable words we say, and babbles seemingly full sentences at us - it's so funny! She also knows some French words that she's picked up at daycare. I'm loving seeing her be a complete sponge.

Eating: She's a pretty good eater, and will try most things we give her. We were most surprised when she DEVOURED broccoli recently, and she loves salmon and other types of fish. We try to stay away from sweets, but on the special occasion when there are sweets around, it's hilarious to watch her light up while eating!

Sleeping: She's still a great little sleeper. She's usually put down by 7:30 and wakes up at 7:00. We are SO grateful. 

Likes and Demeanor: I think my favorite thing that's happening these days is witnessing how much she LOVES her blankie. She sleeps with it, drags it all around the house, and refers to it as "banky". It's all too cute for my blankie-loving heart. She also loves to read, and amazingly, is able to find a specific book off her shelf if we recite a few lines from it!

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A Weekend in New York.

We spent the weekend in New York City enjoying the last of fall and the beginning of the Christmas season. In true New York fashion, the city was decked out with both beautiful autumn colors and Christmas decorations all at once. While I didn't capture most of the weekend on camera, I did get a few shots of our walk through the park, our pit-stop at the Columbus Circle Christmas Market, and a walk down Fifth Avenue to see the windows at Bergdorf Goodman. It was certainly a magical evening in our favorite city!

A Long Weekend in Bermuda.

I have a hard time passing up a good flight deal, so when I was able to get round trip tickets to Bermuda for free with our Jet Blue points we decided to make it happen! With so much going on it felt like this trip snuck up on us, and honestly was probably a bit much in our busy schedules, but it was a fun change of scenery and great to get away while the first cold front of the season came through. In fun life things, my family stayed at the same hotel when I was in first grade so it was extra sweet to come back with my own little family. Although, we were a little put off by the insane prices for food at the resort and probably wouldn't come back for that reason. All in all it was a sweet little getaway, although we think this will probably be our last tropical beach trip for a while - not the easiest or most relaxing with a busy toddler in tow ;)
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Leaves and baby... what could be better?

There's no season I love as much as the fall and seeing Hazel play in the leaves has me loving it on a whole new level. I mean, wouldn't you agree?