The things I miss....

Most days I think I can picture what Zoe and Aaron are up to at a given time.  But every now and then I learn from pictures the things that happen when I'm off at work.  And sometimes those things are rainy day couch forts and ball pits.

Speaking of Friends....

I was lucky enough to get to see many of my closest friends while in Michigan, as well as family.  I started the week throwing a baby shower for my former roommate, Sharon.  Our mutual friend Karen and I found a cute little spot in Detroit, Honor and Folly, and hosted many of Sharon's friends and relatives as she gets ready for her little girl to be born in June.  She's totally an adorable pregnant lady, complete with an adorable nursery that Zoe wanted to break in-- I can't wait to see her become a mom.

 

I remember when my nephew was born, I realized he acted as a real live measuring tape recording how long it had been between visits.  Each time I came home he was a different little person (now, at 11, I feel like he is practically a grown man!).  I love the chance to have Zoe interact with the people closest to me, but I noticed the same is true-- while it doesn't feel like a lot of time has passed between visits, whole giant portions of her life have gone by.

While in Lansing with my parents, I also visited with my friends Kelly and Missy and their children.  I then spent the weekend in Ann Arbor with my three oldest friends, Sage, Sarah, and Gretchen.  Zoe enjoyed chasing around after Sarah's four-year-old son, and petting her twin baby girls as if they were cats.  While she looks so much older than the girls now, we realized they are really all the same age, and I look forward to watching them grow up together, getting older each time we host one of our yearly get togethers.  I am lucky to have a truly amazing group of friends-- I hope she is equally lucky.

 

 

Speaking of home

I always say that home is where I'm not.....

When I'm here in my New York apartment, I'll say "I'm going home for spring break."  When I'm in my parents' house in Lansing, Michigan,  I will say, "I go home on Sunday."

I brought Zoe home to Michigan (by myself-- no husband sitting next to me to pass her to) for a week last week.  We had a great time just being home.  We visited with friends and family.  Zoe got to really bond with her grandparents, clinging to her grandma in my absence when I was gone, and racing around after her 2 year old cousin Connor.  I left her for an overnight for the first time and went to visit with friends, and we both made it without scars from the experience!