Happy Easter!

I hope all of my friends and family in the US and Europe have enjoyed a wonderful Easter with good people and good food. We spent a wonderful day with family and friends. The Easter Bunny surprised Alexa with some new gardening tools, a couple of new snuggly friends and a new bathing suit for our upcoming beach vacation.

 Yummy raisin filled Easter eggs!

 Yay gardening tools!

A little chick and little bunny, knit by Mama.

I even made time for a pre-dinner photo shoot, selfies included!

The food was A-M-AAAAAAAAAA-Z-I-N-G! Michael cooked two beautiful legs of lamb and the rest of us pitched in by making the sides and desserts.

Alexa had so much fun playing with her little buddy, big D and I had such a relaxing time chatting with everyone and just hanging out. We had a perfect April day with sun and a few sun showers. The day even ended perfectly when we saw a rainbow on the drive home!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter Sunday!

Happy Easter!

Hiking with a little bean

Last weekend we hiked around a lake with some friends. We drove about an hour away to go hiking around Offensee, a lake in Upper Austria. This was the first time we attempted to do something outdoors like this with a mobile bean. It was a great success and I can't wait to go hiking again with her.

Another first for me was carrying Alexa like a backpack in the baby carrier. I found it substantially more comfortable having her on my back. She, however, was not as impressed.

The lake is gorgeous and in good weather (or in our case, decent weather) you can see the mirror image of the mountain in the lake.

We had a blast walking around and taking in our gorgeous surroundings. We let Alexa get down and walk a little bit. She thought she was so cool walking on the paths in the woods.

 She was a little cautious about the squishy ground where we stopped for lunch.

 She enjoyed looking around at all the logs and sticks that were scattered around and on the path.

She didn't even have proper shoes on, but that didn't stop her once she got comfortable. She is definitely going to be an outdoorsy kid, just like her Papa.

What kind of outdoor activities do you like to do with your family? Happy Hiking!

The Last Beautiful Fall Day in Linz

A little over a week ago, we experienced the most beautiful Fall day. A blue, cloudless sky and a wonderfully warming sun. We had to take advantage of this day, so we headed to the park! We went for a little walk and then headed directly to the playground. Up until this point Alexa hasn't really done the playground scene very much. The last time we went to a little playground near us she did play in the sand and sit in the play house. Slides, swings and other playground toys she has just been too little for...until now!

She had so much fun on the baby slide! I didn't even realize that such a little slide existed, but was really happy to see Alexa having fun on it.

Then she went big time and went down the big slide with her Papa! Smiles all over the place! And also, my favorite new picture of my favorite two people in the world.

She swung on the swing with me and was so curious about the chains. I was even able to sit her on the swing alone (I was holding her up in the back!) to snap a couple of quick pictures.

 We had such a great day. I even got a couple of new family photos!

Fall Photoshoot

 My little pumpkin bean

This past weekend the weather was absolutely GORGEOUS! 100% Fall perfection. We finally have some gorgeous colored leaves on the trees and littering the ground. The sky was clear blue, the sun was out and there was a slight chill in the air. It was a perfect, crisp fall day. Have I mentioned it was absolutely perfect?!

Michael and I borrowed his dad's hardcore, fancy camera and set out to get some great family photos...we didn't exactly succeed on the family photo front, but we did get some really cute pictures of Alexa!

 Absolute favorite pouty face picture!

 This was the very best family picture we took...and we took about 50. 

We will try again next weekend!

 Don't you just want to eat this baby up!

 Look at how gorgeous the leaves are!!

Poland in Pictures

As promised, here is a glimpse of our trip to Poland...

Our Week in Pictures

I LOVE the Summer! There's always so much to do and see and even if there is nothing on the agenda, just going outside for a walk in the sun puts me in a great mood!

 A Subway lunch with a bunch of friends

 Mommy and Alexa

 Pool time!

 Chilling in her baby pool

 Stealing my afternoon snack...

 Brushing her gums with Papa

 Alexa's first hike - Family hike in Halsach

Making our way back from the hike - Halsach, Pfarrkirche St. Nikolaus

Family Picture

I am obsessed with taking pictures of Alexa. It doesn't matter what time of day, what she is doing, or where we are...I am always clicking away. She's three months old today and I've already taken over 1400 photos on my iPhone, plus an easy 200-300 pictures on my father in-laws fancy camera. Somehow, we never manage to get a family picture. I'm pretty sure one exists from the first couple of days after Alexa's birth, but I can't seem to find it (*cough...don't ever want anyone to see it...cough*). The next family picture we have is from a barbecue we went to last weekend. The first couple only included the top of Alexa's head...I guess I need to work on my self-portrait photography!

Any tips on how to get an infant to actually pay attention in a family photo?

Here was the best one. Obviously I plan on framing it.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is my very first time celebrating Mother's Day as a mother. I have to say I'm incredibly excited and I'm feeling very blessed and emotional about FINALLY being a mom and being able to celebrate this day with my daughter and my husband, with MY family. I feel like we are a real family now.

I have wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember. I always wanted a huge family too, six kids (HA!) and dogs (yes, plural!) with a beautiful house that had a swing set in the backyard. I finally feel like my dreams are coming true. I am so honored and happy to celebrate this day with my very own daughter.

I would also like to wish my mom a Happy Mother's Day! She is so awesome and came to visit us for 3 weeks shortly after Alexa was born. She was such a huge help and Alexa just adores her. Thanks mom for coming ALL the way out here. Also, thank you for all the sacrifices you made so that Joseph and I had a good life. It wasn't always perfect, but nothing is. I think I'm finally old enough and in a position to understand and truly appreciate all that you did for us. I can't wait to see you again! (Just a few more weeks!!) I hope you have a nice day today. I love you!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. I hope you can see, hug, telephone, skype, or facetime with your mom today. Don't forget to tell her how much you love her! For all those moms in heaven, I hope you're looking down on all of us to see how much we love you and how wonderful we are all growing! I know my Gramma and my Mémé are up there looking down on us today and everyday, watching my little string bean grow and learn.

 I'm a mom!!

 My mother in law with Alexa

 My mom and I

My Gramma and I

 My mom and Alexa

Michael, his mom, his grandma (Omi) and Alexa