the past few MONTHS

well... riley sure does take up most of my days (not complaining).

i guess a quick recap on the last few months:

- we are selling our house. i am so proud of the little photoshoot it had last week. one day we can show riley where she was made (ha) and spent the first 8+ months of her little life. and she has her own little website? sweet! www.3012bentleycourt.com

- we are in escrow (loooooose term, i know) on what could be (fingers crossed) our dream house. well, maybe not dream... it isnt on the beach and it isnt in big sur... but it could be a place that our little family could be for a very long time. and very happily. and another project is always fun! i spend my nights on my ipad scouring pinterest for ideas. too too fun for someone like me.

- we went to big sur for our TWO YEAR (whhhhhaaaaaaaaaaat?) anniversary. dont ask me how we have been married for two years. some days it seems like a blink of an eye. and then others it seems a tad bit longer :) we camped, which is really fun with a crawling riley. but it was great- full sized air mattress and 47* weather forced lots of cuddles, 80* days made lounging in the river with a cold beer the only place id wanna be, anniversary dinner at nepenthe, walk through andrew molera, and a quick night out at "the dog". we have so many good memories in big sur and it was fun to bring little riley and think of all of the future trips we will have with her. we decided it would be a trip we will take every year.

- i am still not back at work. and i think it will be a long time before i go back. and i am ok with this decision and i am proud of myself for committing to being home with riles. and repeat. and repeat.

- scotty: bought the company as of january 1 2012. he has been killin it and working so hard and really taking the little family owned company to the next level. i am so proud of him and what he has single handedly accomplished so far this year. he's only 31 years old ya'll.

- i just spent about 4 minutes staring at the wall trying to update something relating to myself that isnt also riley related... and i got nothing. i read a really great article in the huffington post about the first years of motherhood and trying to relate with your old friends... and when you are finally able to schedule time to catch up- you just want to hear about them because when the conversation turns to you- all you have updates on are your childs bowel movements, or that they are making a new face, or that they nursed 13 times when you were camping... but that is sooooo fucking boring. so anyways, i am struggling with that. so i got a babysitter (i love her, and she loooooves riley) for six whopping hours a week and instead of using that time to go to target or nordstroms, i am reading in the park. so if you want to talk to me about "freedom" by jonathan franzen- come over any time. other than that... im just going to listen to you talk about you :)

- i waste a lot of my day worrying about what kind of mother i am, what kind of wife i am, daughter, friend, sister, etc. and i think it really prevents me from being as good as i could be. so my new motto thanks to florence and the machine is: its hard to dance with a devil on your back, so shake it out. (yes, i am a 13 year old quoting a rock band).

im working on letting my head stop making me worry about things out of my control so i can live in the present. because the present is a pretty wonderful place.

now onto what is really going on in my life:

- riley sage: 8 months old. still not sleeping through the night, but thats ok. still in bed with us. sitting up since 4.5 months. legitimately crawling since 7 months. she is hilarious, and saturday and sunday mornings scotty and i can stay in bed laughing with her for hours (these are the top moments of my life thus far). obsessed with: flip flops (in her mouth), going through the garbage, huntley's eyes, pulling herself up to bang on ANYTHING in sight, electrical outlets, and any type of chord. and mum mums. sleep crawls in the middle of the night- always ending in head butting either scotty or i. loves being outside... we spend a lot of time at the pool and park. has tan lines in her fat rolls. is a little performer, always wants the attention on her. gabbing and singing non stop- she sings herself to sleep. is currently napping in her crib- first time ever. hates clothes. prefers boob over anything, but will take a sippy cup with breast milk. dances to hall and oates (truth). is the absolutely positively best thing i have ever done in my entire 29 years of existence.

im so fucking bored. but also so happy. 

nicaragua

well i am a bad blogger. sorry to mostly annie. i think she is the only one who reads.

we just got back from nicaragua. it is such a beautiful place with such beautiful and kind people. and they LOVE babies. we will definitely be back.

it was fun to sit and talk with scotty about future vacations that we are going to take with riley, and our future children. everything is just a tad more fun when you have a little one like riley around, at least for scotty and i. it was all new to her, and it was amazing to get to get so much joy out of making her happy.

im not sure exactly when it happened... but some time ago, scott stopped picking up the baby to relieve me, and started doing it because he missed her and wanted to hold her. he is seriously the best and this trip he was THE BEST. i feel so so lucky to have such a great man for me and the little lady. my little family makes me so happy and full lately that i cant even talk about it without tearing up.

as for scotty- the trip actually made me love the guy more. i am so proud of the man that he is. he's already there/here, you know? he's not still discovering what kind of person he wants to be when he grows up - that man is here. and he's kind, and sometimes quiet, and strong, and he tells bad jokes, and he is sincere. and real and he works hard to make a good life for us. i love him deeper and im so glad i got to rediscover all of these things about him on this trip. and i think he would agree with the sentiment towards me too- we are already the adults we wanted to be. we will of course continue to grow and mature and make mistakes... but we were proud of each other. and it felt good to feel so close and like a unit.

we also realized why people with babies travel with people with babies. its so obvious to us now.

here are some pics. annie- i know you say you only want to go to hawaii... but nicaragua is prettier- and 1/10th of the price. plus culture! let's go!

hanging out in our room with this fat baby and beautiful man was shockingly fun.

the sunsets were amaze-balls.

 people are so nice. thumbs up like crazy in granada. 

water bebe. the best thing. ever.

family pictures

you could not pick two people who are more awkward in front of the camera... scotty and i will take that cake. but rosie harald contacted me to take some family pictures to build her portfolio. i am so glad that we did... here are some of pics from the day. <3

thanks rosie! these are so special!

burlap.

riley probably naps for an hour max once a day. she isnt the best napper. this is mostly my fault. because i want to do things, and not sit at home.

that being said- baby girl slept for an hour on tuesday of last week. we had recently gotten a new bed (king size ya'll) (because huntley PISSED our old one), but have yet to decide on a head board. in the meantime- i made us this. 

it cost $2.50. and im pretty proud of it. maybe i am copying the ACE hotel in any way that i can. whatevs.  i like it. 

whole heartedly.

i am obsessed with my child.

when she is awake, i will do anything to make her smile. or coo. her noises are so sweet and angelic. it is heaven to me.

when she sleeps, i stare at her, smiling, and sometimes crying, because i literally love her so much that it makes me so happy but also so scared.

when she naps, which she is actually doing from time to time now, i blog about her. and edit pictures of her. and make videos.

i am that mother. oh well. riley- you are sooo worth it girl.

happy three months my little girl. you are, without a doubt, the best thing i have ever done.

rileys first friend!

we got to spend the last weekend in palm dessert with DUKE. it was so special to see our babies together. so so special.

such a fun time. other than the hangover (scotty was on daddy duty... but i wont be asking that of him again for a loooooooong time).

nica.

so... sometimes when people start a family things change. not when youre married to scotty. so even though we have a two and a half month old bebe- he booked us 8 days in nicaragua. on a beach in the middle of nowhwhere, with a convenient left break for him to enjoy, and an infinity pool for me and riley to enjoy. we will be there with two other lovely couples (love you kim), but im a little worried. a little.

anywho- on my nica to do list:

1. make sure my baby is 110% up to date on her vaccinations. (they will be completed like the day before we depart).

2. make like 60 versions of my "pack for baby" list and have my mother and pediatrician check it 25 times each.

3. walk a lot of hills.

4. lose about 20 lbs.

here are some things i have purchased or plan on purchasing to make me feel better about the trip. yes, i can absolutely be bought.

got this for the little lady. spf 30 and weighs next to nothing. she is going to be so cute hanging out in it on the beach. i am obsessed with diapers.com. (i placed an order at 3:50pm yesterday and there is a huge box, with this tent in it, and dish soap, and diapers, and scottys body wash on my doorstep as we speak. its 9:17 am! and free shipping).

you might be thinking, elysia- this is a maternity dress?!?!? riley is out of your stomach... well yes, but i love it on the skinny bitch too. this is on the wish list for nica. made by hatch. they are my new favorite designer. even though i am not prego. fuck it. i will be again one day...

riley and i need matching salt waters. im just having a hard time finding them for me. but these make me smile. yes, i know she doesnt walk.

you may be thinking... a blouse swimsuit?!?!?! elysia- dont give up entirely at 29! but i ordered it. and im gonna rock it. thanks jcrew.
courtney was wearing these last weekend. i loved them, so i ordered them. a lady can never have too many shades. especially when you lose them the way i do. so cute! and only $42 @ anthropologie.
i LOVEEEE these. i dont usually buy free people stuff if it isnt on sale- bc it ALWAYS goes on sale (ive been tricked too many times before). so i am keeping tabs on them and will soon have them in my possession, and for 30% less. but i love them.