Three-month-old Winnie

Winnie turned three months just a couple weeks before we moved out of Manhattan. And just a couple of weeks before that, she finally started coming out of her colicky stage. It's so crazy to think back on that time, how she would cry nonstop unless she was being held and we were moving around. I was in survival mode. But here we are on the other side of that, and I can look back on those days with just vague memories of fatigue. 

Winnie started showing emotions so much earlier than Sally did in some ways. She began laughing when she was just two-and-a-half months old. I think Sally was almost four months before we got any giggles from her. Like Sally, Winnie picked up on sleeping through the night very quickly, too. As I'm writing this, she's five months old and waking up three times a night, but in NYC, she would sleep from about 7:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. It was wonderful. Aside from her colic, Winnie has always looked for reasons to smile and be happy. She began smiling on command so early on, and she still does it. We love having this little ball of joy as part of our family. 

Sally and Winnie in June

 

Wynn Two Months

Saturday in Central Park in June

One Saturday morning in June, we walked 11 miles and saw all we could see in Central Park. And we made it home in time for Sally's nap! By the walk home, Johnny was pretty grumpy. I'd once again planned too much for one day, but I love going and doing. We were exhausted and just relaxed once we got home. Those are maternity jeans I'm wearing in the picture, ha! Not sure when I officially transitioned back to pre-pregnancy pants, but glad those days are here now.

June evenings in Riverside Park

In June, Johnny stopped working with his company and started pursuing his own work. He'd leave the house every day and go work somewhere with free wi-fi (usually Whole Foods) while Sal, Wynn, and I left the house and went to a playground. We really got a good groove going with our life with two kids. I was feeling much more like myself, and getting out with the girls each day kept me sane in our tiny apartment. 

We knew we'd likely be leaving NYC when our lease was up, but we decided to see if our landlord would be open to the idea of us leaving early if someone wanted the apartment. We were still doubtful we would be leaving early, and we decided to just try to enjoy NYC to the fullest until the end of November when our lease was up. Of course, everything ended up happening much faster than expected, and we left at the end of July, but we had no clue of that in these pictures. We started having a routine of going to Riverside park in the evenings to kill time with the girls, let Sally get some energy out, and enjoy some family time in a beautiful, non-crowded area of the city. 

Those evenings were pretty perfect.

One-Month-Old Winnie

Sally and Winnie in May

I love nothing more than taking pictures of my girls. Here are a few from May of this year, their very first joint photoshoot. 

Mother's Day 2015

These are both flowers Johnny got me in May. The first is from a day that Sally pooped on the kitchen floor and was a total tyrant all day long. The other was from Mother's Day 2015. I loved that arrangement, which Johnny put together himself.

I felt so incredibly honored to be a mom on Mother's Day this year. I didn't go to church because I was still staying home with Winnie, but Johnny and Sally went. I spent that time napping and resting, and it felt so luxuriously wonderful.

Each Mother's Day, Johnny has a tradition. For each child's first Mother's Day, he creates their email address. He then writes them an email about themselves and about me as their mom. I've gotten to read one letter the past two years, but this year I got to read two letters. They're so thoughtful and way, way too kind, and inevitably I end up balling my eyes out. Motherhood wouldn't be such an incredible experience without Johnny by my side. I really love being a mom. I don't think there's anything more important in my life than being a mom to my girls. I hope I can live up to that responsibility.

An afternoon in Central Park in May

I relished the weekends and Johnny being home those first few months. A few weeks after Wynn was born, and the Saturday before Mother's Day, we took a walk as a family to Central Park. I still wasn't getting out much with the girls yet, so I was so happy to be outside. From the time Sally got sick until the few weeks after Wynn was born, I'd spent most my time indoors, and NYC had begun to blossom. Much of my motivation to get out of the house came from wanting so badly to experience warm weather and see flowers and greenery after the worst winter ever. It was a perfect, albeit kind of stressful being out with two kids. We never knew when Sally was going to throw a tantrum over something tiny or when Wynn might start crying. But it ended up going smoothly, and we enjoyed our time as a family of four.